A Little More Than A Homecoming
by lookingforgrowth
Summary: Just days prior to Emma's return to Storybrooke, a child appears at her mother's loft. She finds this homecoming a little more than she bargained for. Emma is met with a sparking glimpse of her future that ignites every fear from her past. Can she move on from what New York had to offer, and move toward a life that gives her everything a lost girl dreamt of? (Set in 3b)
1. Prologue

A chill had set in on an early winter's eve. The thin child tugged her black motorcycle jacket tighter across her torso. She used her free hand to pull her long, dark waves over her eyes and down past her collar bones to her waist, one side at a time. The wind forced her jade eyes to twinkle with tears as she marched down Main Street against the gale.

She was too tiny, she thought, certain she'd blow away if the gust picked up even a hair. The town was most likely still settling from being created once more earlier in the day. She's never seen a day this windy on land. Perhaps it were another tornado, whisking her away, curtesy of this time's villain.

_She shouldn't know I'm here, should she?_

Things were quite unclear. No one tells the chum the particulars. Nobody sets up the errand boy with all the information. Errand boys are unpredictable. She was highly unpredictable, so much so, she hadn't the faintest idea what words would come out of her mouth the moment she got to where she was going.

And where was she going?

Over the river and through the woods.

It wasn't until the shivering girl approached corridor, reality flushed through her frostbitten cheeks. She could almost smell them, just above her in their iconic loft. She felt her magic sizzle and spark at her fingertips, unsure if this was excitement or anxiety bubbling below her belly button. Either way, she'd have to make the journey up the staircase to get to the source of her unreadable emotion.

Step by step realization hit her, she was not going to fall upon familiar smiles and warm hugs, she was going to meet untrusting eyes and possibly receive more rejection than love. Still, over the course of her half-mile trek here, she's promised herself she'd do it the honest way. No secrets, there's no valiancy in secrecy. She knows that much. She'd start out with the truth, perhaps half-truths to save her from the fallout, but truths nonetheless. When everything was said and done, she'd reenact the spell she'd practiced time and time again. They'd all remember things the way she'd been told for years and none would be the wiser.

Still, as her trembling fist reached up to tap the door, she wished she had been wiser, caught on to what he was selling. All magic comes with a price, but the question is 'if you don't exist to pay it, who does?'

_That's the price moron. Just knock. _

_Knock Knock. _

The waiting game didn't last very long, still long enough to sizzle, crack, scorch across her tiny fingertips. She held her hands together, telling herself she were just rubbing them for warmth, not to calm the storm that will easily brew uncontrollably until her judgement day.

Then the door opened. It was as if the sun made a surprise visit only hours after sundown. Mary Margaret stood there in all her glory, shimmering with a glow unlike any other. The child's eyes matched the woman's staring back at her. Bright, green and wider than the moon.

The scrutiny she subjected herself to, showing up like this, was quite possibly deserved, yet somehow she didn't think it would occur. Still, she watched the woman's eyes scan over her carefully, every detail being cataloged.

"Hello." the girl spoke hesitantly, willing her knees to stop shaking. She extended her right hand gracefully, forcing a smile to stain her face. "I am Princess Lillian Eva Jones. Do you mind if I come in?"


	2. Chapter 1: Friendly Little Talks

A/N: I forgot to mention that the first chapter was only the prologue. I'm sure everyone got the idea though. Anyhow, this is the official first chapter. Through mapping out the story I want to tell, I plan on having two POV's present: Emma and Lily. This chapter is just Emma though.

Thanks for reading.

_**Chapter 1:Friendly Little Talks**_

"We leave in the morning." Emma was still a little breathless. Frankly the fact that she was only a_ little_ breathless was extraordinary so she didn't feel embarrassed in the slightest.

What she felt was fucking pissed. Pissed that she thought she found someone who wouldn't break her heart. That entire spiel about loving her from the moment she walked into his furniture store? Bull. The proposal? Bull! The last eight months that she allowed this… _thing_ to interact with her, her child? Complete and total bullshit.

Emma marched down the stairs that led from the roof, though the hall she took, to her front door that Hook barely felt the need to even close. It was cracked, meaning anyone or any… _thing _could be in there. She approached slowly, sliding through the smallest opening, tip-toeing and avoiding all the floorboards she knew had the tendency to creak.

She was halfway to the island in the kitchen when she heard a noise come from the front door. She tiptoed a little faster, crouching behind the counter and sliding the drawer open slowly to reveal her sharpest kitchen knives. She didn't hesitate to grab one, pressing her back against the cabinet, she tried to draw the quietest of deep breathes.

The footsteps drew near, stopping right at the other side of the island. When she heard them pick back up, she braced herself.

It had been 13 months, thirteen damn months since she found herself needing to pull bravery out of no where, 13 months since she had to deal with the idea of people… _things _out there wanting to hurt her and her family. 13 months since she recognized the familiar sense of not being safe.

The footsteps stopped once more at the end of the counter when Emma jumped up and lunged forward to attack before she was attacked. She didn't see the person…_thing_ she was lunging at until it were almost too late.

"BLOODY HELL, SWAN!" Killian shouted, stumbling out of reach of her sharpened chef's knife.

"HOOK!" Emma shouted back dropping the knife in her hand. "What are you doing here! I told you" Emma panted, the idea of almost butchering the wrong person…_thing_, sent her into a tizzy.

"It's fine." Killian picked up the knife, tossing it into her sink behind her. He moved to embrace her but she stumbled back. "What's not fine is you. Talk to me."

"No." Emma grunted. "You need to go. I told you tomorrow. Not tonight. Tonight I need to pack and think about how much I wanted something, and how stupid…" Emma stumbled over her words more than her feet now, trying her best to hold in the sickening need to break down.

"Emma" Killian sighed, stepping back into her space. "Look at me, Love." It was always 'love' with him. She shook her head, moving again, but only closer to his open arms.

"You have to leave." Emma whimpered. "Before… before…"but it was too late, tears cascaded from her eyes instantly. She moved away from him, but he reached for her, pulling her into him, and who was she to deny comfort, when she's gone too long without it. She allowed her forehead to fall against his shoulder, saltwater tumbling down his leather jacket. She's sure it wasn't the first time. He was a pirate after all.

Except for when he wasn't, when he was a friend. A confidant who stood by her through much more than he should have after she left him in that giant's lair.

"Why are you always so nice to me?" Emma sniffled, bringing her forehead from his shoulder, but avoiding his eyes. "I've handcuffed you twice, during my escape. You obviously can't trust me. Why are you so nice to me?"

"Is it not obvious?" His voice was dimmer, until he hooked his finger under her chin, bringing her watery gaze up to meet his oceanic eyes. "Tell me what plagues you."

"Is it not obvious?" She mimicked. "My boyfriend, eight fucking months, a… thing. A flying thing, with sharp teeth and red eyes and DAMMIT he was around my son!."

"He won't hurt you or Henry now." Killian promised, you could tell by his eyes, his serious tone, he promised. "Have another drink with me. I'll watch over your place while you sleep."

"Killian," Emma sighed before recognizing she used his real name. Her eyes widened a tad but she caught herself, schooling in her features. "I have to call you Killian, when Henry's around. I should probably get use to it. Right?"

"Right." Killian smiled. "Come now." He guided her back to her own dining room table. Always the gentleman, he pulled out her chair, pushing her in slightly when she sat.

"Where have you been staying?" She asked after they poured another round. She rolled the rum around in her tumbler, remembering the way she use to relax from the scent alone, unsure why until now. "In the city, since you've been here?"

"The apartment I showed you."

"Have you been eating? Neal had a bunch of spoiled disgustingness flocking the kitchen." She shivered at the memory of the smell, the flies.

"I ate that bologna they force-fed me in the brig." He caught her off guard with the detest in his voice. She had to look up to see his eyes still kind toward her.

"You were there all of three hours, will you stop?"

"I would rather have been eaten by that giant, than forced to eat what tasted like the giant's foot."

"Oh, so you tasted the Anton's foot, then?"

"Do not mock my pain, Swan. I was manhandled and promised to be someone's sex-slave in there. You know nothing of my pain to mock it."

"You were in there for three hours!" She laughed, loud and hard. As if she wasn't just going through an emotion breakdown. As if none of those terrible things just happened. As if there were still good in this world.

There was. She's always been pessimistic after a break up.

"Three hours too long, thank you." Killian let out a small chuckle before sipping his own rum. "Tell me, Regina set you up nicely here?"

"Yeah, really nicely, I don't know how to repay her."

"Seeing the lad again is payment enough, I'm sure." Killian's eyes focused on the mantle behind her. There were photos of Henry and her at some pizza place, at the park, at the museum, at the zoo. They've done a lot in the last thirteen months. Normal things that Emma craved as a child but never got.

"Right. I didn't even think about all the people in Storybrooke." Emma let out a small huff, sounding like a laugh, but of course Mr. 'Open Book' knew better.

"It's okay to not be thrilled about sharing your son again. Or about the awkward relationship building you have with your parents. It's perfectly fine, Swan. What's not okay is berating yourself over how you feel. You're entitled to your feelings, always. Regardless of what they are and what they aren't."

"Did you take a women's studies class in The Enchanted Forest?" Emma chuckled. "You sound like a feminist." She thought he'd brush it off, but after noticing his confused glance before quirking an eye, she's pretty certain she get's that he has no idea what a feminist is.

"Darling, I've always been interested in the study of women." He's so smug when he doesn't understand, it would almost be cute if she didn't fight herself violently over ever thinking anything about him was cute.

"On that note. I think I need to cap this bottle."Chuckling, Emma stood from the chair, reaching over the table when she met his eyes once more. "You can stay on the couch, but you have to shower first because you smell like a bologna-eating sex slave."

"Swan, you wound me, truly." Killian chuckled whole-heartedly and it was as good to hear him laugh as it was to laugh herself.

"C'mon wounded pirate. I'll teach you how." She walked around the table, pulling him up by his hand. His smile when he rose fully to his feet left little to be missed about Walsh. Looking back on the last eight months, not a single smile was received quite the same way as she was receiving his. Something about his dimpled grin and bright eyes proved that every storm ends in rainbows and somehow, someway this day would lead to better ones.

"What's caught your eye?" He grinned signifying that he caught her staring.

"I just didn't know you had dimples. Not everyone does. I didn't realize you did." She shrugged as if it were normal to notice new things about him every moment.

"Wound me once again why don't you. I thought you paid a bit more attention to the ol pirate, I guess I'm not glance worthy."

"Tonight you are. You saved me from my normal break-up ritual. I owe you my life and the money I would have spent on a few bottles of wine."

"That so?" Killian snickered. "I'm worth more than wine, love. You owe me rum, and we'll solve that soon enough." Killian moved with her toward her bedroom, beaming like the sun, as if every part of him were enthused and enamored. He looked younger this way, and it was something she'd remember for a stormy time.

It may have taken her too many minutes to explain the idea of 'turn left for hot and right for cold.' He may have been too busy getting undressed to pay attention to her and when she turned around to find his pelvic bones staring at her, she used every damn sliver of will-power to walk out of the bathroom, expressing her need to find him a clean towel to dry off with.

All in all, he was out of the shower about an hour later, and she had been curled up on her sofa, sobering and staring at her packed luggage.

"What plagues you, dear?" His voice was much less full of laughter, now full of worry. It's weird, being in a position again where one would even need to worry.

"This place. It's been good to us."

And it has. It's been family filled moments, even if the family were only the two of them. They spent holidays together, not waiting for something to rip them apart. They have memories, real and fake, but memories of cheerful times and love.

"That's hard to believe." He mumbled, glaring out of the window. "You can't see a single, bloody star. How do you find your way home?"

"You come from a different realm and drag me, kicking and screaming." Perhaps that came out a bit too salty.

"You said we leave tomorrow. Not I." He dismissed, moving from the window to the sofa she occupied. She noticed the way his borrowed sweatpants dropped down rather low. The way his muscles ripped as he moved to reattach his hook. If she didn't continue dialogue, he'd catch her watching once again.

"Do you normally sleep in that?" She pointed to the hook in question.

"When I'm keeping watch of a fair maiden." He answered quickly as if he weren't poking fun at their predicament.

"Do tell me, pirate, how often you do that?" There might have been a bit of flirt in her tone, but this was her last night being someone else, being this normal girl. She's allowed.

"Only when you're around, Love." he smirked, taking a spot next to her. "Go on now, get rest, I can't possibly operate that vessel of yours… how many hours away did you say we were traveling?"

"About eight" Emma shrugged. "It will go by quickly."

"I'll sleep on the trip and it will go by even quicker."

"Noooo,"she whined playfully. "Henry always sleeps on road trips, if you sleep I'll be alone and might fall under the highway hypnosis and throw us off the road." She explained, leaning toward him. "Ahhh," she yawned. "Can I sleep here?"

"Darling it's your house." He opened up his arms for her to fall into. She laid her head on his lap with a thud, closing her eyes instantly. "Sleep where ever you'd like."

"In the morning, you'll leave for a while, just so Henry doesn't know you were here all night?"

"Anything." he replied softly, quieting his voice to let Emma fall faster asleep.

XXXXXX

It must have been four in the morning when she roused to the sound of him humming. He was no longer beneath her, but brooding out of windows. She tightened her wrap in the throw blanket he must have draped over her sleeping form. There was a chill in her apartment from the open windows, and he was standing next to it, still shirtless.

"They never turn the lights off here." Emma startled him as she approached. She took the blanket, wrapping it around him. "You better be careful. You'll get sick if you don't."

"Pirates don't get sick." He sighed, turning to face her with icy blue eyes. He wasn't just cold from the window, but from something deeper.

"What's wrong?" Emma whispered, reading his features, waiting for a lie.

"Nothing." _lie_

"Try again," she warned. Now she got a groan as he unwrapped the blanket from around him, rewrapping her inside. He turned away from her, shutting the window before walking across the floor to the couch. "Hey?" Emma followed. "This open book thing only works one way?"

"Darling, you're wasting your time and breath. Go on back to sleep."

"You're one of the best friends I've ever had." Emma flung herself down beside him, leaning into his side. "You were there for me all through Neverland, and now you're here, you came back and stayed with me after last night's horror. We're friends. Let me be your friend."

"Friend? I don't think i've ever had one."

"Neither have I… well, never for long. You're my longest friend."

"Okay. So, what does that mean?" Killian turned his chin to face her. "I tell you all my secrets?"

"And I stand by you." Emma nodded. "What's bothering you?"

"You, telling me that I woke you from a really good dream." he grimaced and Emma felt it in her gut. This wasn't a lie, he was upset over it. "You were sleeping, and started to tremble from night terrors. Good dreams are better, I stole that from you."

He did, and before that whole Walsh-being-a-monkey-thing, she was going to stay pissed for a while. She vowed she would, but now, things are different. She's not sure why or how, but being angry at him seems like the worst mistake she could make. They were friends and she needed them to be on the same side.

"Well, you didn't make me the savior. Rumplestilskin did." Emma smiled gently. "Let's just continue to blame him for all our problems, dead or not." She was expecting him to smile, or laugh like last night, but no. His face turned grim.

"Do you believe he's truly dead." his voice just as dark as his features.

"I don't know… does that really bother you? I thought you squashed your feud?" Emma waited for a lie. He furrowed his brow, lowering his gaze from her face. "Killian." she urged.

"I laid down my guns, for the safe return of your boy, Emma." Killian explained, still avoiding her eyes.

"I know, I know you did." Emma moved to gently rub her hand down his arm. "And I can't ever thank you enough for that, Killian."

"I didn't bring it up for your gratitude. I owed it to you." He corrected. "However, I don't feel anyone is ever truly safe around him."

"Good thing he's not around." Emma reassured him, her hand still on his naked bicep. His eyes followed her now timidly trembling arm to where they connected.

"Yeah" He whispered, his eyes locked on her hand. "Now that we talked, as friends do, perhaps you should get the last few hours you can. Dawn is on it's way." She quickly dropped her hand from his arm, staring intensely at him, watching for his next more. "Your bed might be more comfortable."

"Right." Emma let out a breath. "I'll go do that then." She stood slowly on unsteady feet, tossing him the blanket before she turned to walk toward her room. "Goodnight, Friend" She called back halfway through the door.

"Goodnight, Love" she heard him whisper to himself, allowing a final smile to grace her lips before she pretended to sleep for the next three hours.

XXXXXXX

Introducing Henry to Killian had been easy. Getting the bags in the car was easier. Getting out of the city within an hour and a half, well, no harm no foul. This however, this weird conversation taking place on their drive is not so easy.

She finds herself constantly interfering with Killian's responses, afraid her far too perceptive son will realize that this pirate is just not from around here. She can only use his English background so many times before Henry starts researching the country himself.

"But, you do understand that Peter Pan is the good guy, don't you?" Henry argues from the backseat. "Ask any Englishman. Kensington Gardens is pretty much a shrine to Peter Pan. You can't say he's not worshipped."

"Worshipped, Aye, I assume any slave is meant to worship their master." Killian retorted.

"Killian!" Emma smacked her hand across his chest.

Apparently, the few days they were back from Neverland, Killian educated himself on all things Peter Pan. He and Tinkerbelle watched the movies, he even began the original novel. He now thinks he's caught up on all things Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Little does Henry understand, he literally is.

"No, Swan, the lad needs to learn. The bloody sculpture is the demon boy standing on the backs of his Lost Boy victims. Am I to believe that's worship?"

"You're wrong!" Henry shouted playfully. "He's a hero."

"Oh, that is too rich, my boy, too bloody rich." Killian let out a mocking chuckle. "I'll tell you the hero is that Captain Hook, he liberates lost boys, allowing them to return home."

"If by home you mean Heaven, he makes them walk the 'bloody' plank." Henry mimicked Killian's accent better than Emma ever could.

"Henry, let's be realistic here, The boy teaches children to fly, but not to land. Eventually they starve or hit something. I believe there have been more casualties by his hand than mi… my dear Hook."

"Mom, it's your favorite. Would you please educate your friend." Henry was apparently washing his hands of the conversation.

"Actually," Emma let a small smirk lift her lips. "I've always liked Hook in the book. I sorta grew up a lost boy, I'd much rather try my luck as a pirate."

"Aye, and what a lovely pirate you would make Swan." Killian smiled back at her, catching her glance whenever she stole one.

"Gross." Henry grumbled from the back seat. "Pirates are barbaric."

"Oi, you're treading a thin line." Killian playfully threatened. "I'll find ye a plank to walk yet, if you keep it up."

"Right, I forgot that you are a pirate." Henry chuckled. "Did I mention, _Captain _That I'm Peter Pan."

"Oh, Lad, if only you saw the sickening irony." Killian grimaced to himself. "You'd much sooner call yourself a flying monkey."

"Killian!" Emma scolded once more, delivering a more painful smack this time around. "You're incorrigible."

"And that's why you wish to be my friend." He grinned.

She couldn't say why she wanted to be his friend. She knew he'd always want to be more, and perhaps part of her is more than curious what 'more' would feel like, but right now, she needs the way he is as a friend. The way he encourages and understands. The way he validates her feelings, whatever they are, and puts her best interest above whatever he may be longing for.

"Yeah… that's why." She rolls her eyes and trucks along.

The ride goes on without any hitches. Killian and Henry share a few more mixed opinions before finding shared interests. Killian likes the stars and Henry has a secret interest in astrology. Killian knows about boats and sailing, Henry likes the beach and ocean. Killian mentioned sword fighting and horseback riding back home, (which was very difficult for Emma to try and explain) and Henry was practically on the edge of his seat, begging for lessons.

It took a few hours but Henry tuckered out after the last rest stop. He was blissfully asleep in the backseat and the car was pretty quiet. There was a lull in the conversation she and Killian were sharing quietly, so she took the opportunity to turn on a little music. After hitting seek and the old radio sputtering a bit, a station finally came in clear as day.

_There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back_

_Well tell her that I miss our little talks_

_Soon it will be over and buried with our past_

_We used to play outside when we were young_

_And full of life and full of love._

_Some days I feel like I'm wrong when I'm right_

_Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear_

_'Cause though the truth may vary_

_This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

"What's this?" Killian turned to her, his prosthetic hand gesturing to the radio. "This… song?" He stuttered, unsure if he's correct. "This song, what's this?"

"_Little Talks_" Emma replied, gently nudging his fake hand out of the way to turn the volume just a hair louder. "By_ Of Monsters and Men_."

"I heard it over and over in that cursed city." Killian whispered desperate for something. He stared at the stereo as if it were going to burst into flames.

_You're gone, gone, gone away_

_I watched you disappear_

_All that's left is the ghost of you._

_Now we're torn, torn, torn apart,_

_There's nothing we can do_

_Just let me go we'll meet again soon_

_Now wait, wait, wait for me_

_Please hang around_

_I'll see you when I fall asleep_

"_Don't listen to a word I say_" Killian began to sing along, smooth but etherial. Like he was fluent in folk music back in the Enchanted Forest. "_The screams all sound the same._" He reclined further into his seat, allowing his eyes to close and head to drop back against the head rest. "_Though the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to sure."_

"Leave it to lyrics about ships to connect you to modern music." Emma joked, but staring at him, hearing the pained voice he sung with, she wasn't quite so sure he'd smile. "You learned the lyrics fast."

"The bloody song was haunting me." Killian sighed, rolling his neck to stare out at the now starry night sky. "Ahh, something familiar again. You know the stars are the same in every realm."

"Haunting you?" Emma was quick to revisit the statement, not giving him that chance of deferment. "How, you've been here two days?"

"I heard it a least two dozen times in that damn city. In the boxcar—"

"Elevator" Emma corrected. It wasn't a damn boxcar, he just refused to call it by it's proper name. Emma knew he was a quicker study than that.

"Right." He grumbled something about 'uncanny word games' "Anyhow, Swan, in that el-a-vay-door, they played the song. They played it once again at the restaurant the monkey beast proposed at. They played it twice through shops on the way to your building. Once again in the bloody brig you forced me to, and even last night, I heard it through the shut windows of your dwellings. Do tell me it's not following me."

"I'd hate to break it to you, but it's not haunting you." Emma expressed.

Of course not. Haunting is what he did, this entire year. The nautical themes in her apartment, the sight of his too-blue eyes in every other dream she had, to the point she was chasing down many dark-haired strangers who strolled about the same way he did through her dreams. Haunting was knowing she knew him, as soon as she opened the door but not understanding why. More so, haunting was getting caught up in a kiss with a lunatic banging at your door early in the morning, because part of you felt something, all the other parts felt they remembered something else.

If he honestly was this torn up over a song following him, it's best he never lose his memory.

"What do you call it then, Love?" He had a bit of a snotty tone, Emma had to bite back the laugh.

"Mainstream America, you can sit and hear this song another 12 times before we make it to Storybrooke." Emma explained nonchalantly. "It's actually incredibly annoying and probably why I just walk everywhere, talking to myself."

Killian stared at Emma, but she couldn't take her eyes off the road long enough to figure out what he was thinking. She settled for asking. "What?"

"Darling, you really do need friends." She caught sight of his slow-forming grin.

"Oh shut up, you ass." Emma smacked him sharply as she hissed. "Why don't I turn on more music so you can just sing to yourself and leave me alone, huh?"

"Anything" he hummed.


	3. Ch 2: State The Things You Know Are True

A/N: I've always been taught 'Don't sell yourself short before people view the product.' So I've been wanting to avoid stating how unbeta'd my writing is, and also how much of an amateur I am. Yet, there I go, stating what I know is true.

Now that that's out of the way, I present you my second chapter of A Little More Than a Homecoming. Still one POV and it's Emma's. **I do not own OUAT or have any affiliations(**unless you count the fandom), but I did borrow quite a bit of dialogue for this chapter.

Thanks again for reading.

_**Chapter 2: State The Things You Know Are True**_

The bug crept slowly into the closest available parking space by Mary Margaret's loft. She takes a deep breath, putting the parking break on and unbuckling before she changes her mind and drives back to New York. She wants to hazard a look at the pirate, but she isn't sure just how readable her emotions are in the moment, and would prefer to not revisit just how much of an open book she is to him.

Everything is different now. She's back in Storybrooke, and the person she was a day ago is nothing more than a memory, a fake one at that. Everything she feels is intensified by the underlying sense of eeriness and danger. This town has a way of taking the hope right out of her. She's always left with fear of not being enough. How many times will she need to remind herself she's the savior this time?

Killian approaches her side of the car, She's looking around in discouragement before she sets her eyes on him. He's speaking, but she can't take her eyes off the hook. The literal clicking sound is the last nudge she needs to fall back into reality. She's not just some girl, he's not her guy friend. He's a storybook pirate, she's a mother and the savior and this easiness with them isn't going to last much longer.

Everything is different now.

So when he tries for familiar pleasantries, she doesn't hesitate to brush him off and walk away. She has obligations now. She's the savior now. So long comfort system, hello uncomfortable relationships with the parents who she now remembers.

With little time in the cold, she reaches the ever familiar corridor. This place housed her for a while. Not her longest home by a long shot, but still, a place she dwelled long enough to remember it. She could almost see them, just above, walking around the crowded loft. She felt something within her sizzle and crack. She paused for a moment, unsure whether it were anxiety or longing to see her parents again. Either way, she'd have to make the journey up the staircase to get to the source of her unreadable emotion.

Emma held her breath as she approached the landing. Behind that door was the unknown. Questions she hadn't thought of soared through her mind. _Would they remember? Would they still care? Do they know what happened? Do they even need me here?_

Emma Swan adopted a technique as a child. When things were too much, when she felt too frazzled to step forward, she did it.

'State the things you know are true.'

_My name is Emma Swan_

_My parents are behind this door. _

_Storybrooke is back, and so am I. _

_The only way to step forward is to step through this door._

_Knock Knock._

For a moment, as the door swung open and she caught sight of her father's eyes, she felt a since of belonging, a small feeling of homecoming and within a flash, the sense was washed over by anxiety once more as his jaw dropped.

"Hi" She spoke breathlessly, a little shocked by her own response. The second spread and so did the mixed emotion in his eyes. "Don't close the door, my.. uh… my name is—"

"Emma" His voice just as breathless as hers.

She had no control over her feet, she moved into him, embracing instantly, his hand cradling her head like he always had and in that moment, Storybrooke felt like home. She's not so sure she knows what home feels like, but as a girl, she imagined she'd find it the moment she felt this.

"You remember." His voice spoke of astonishment, something so emotional.

Emma pulled back to find his comforting eyes once more. "You remember?" It was only partially a question. It was obvious he remembered, what she meant to say was _how?_

"O…of course" He fell back on his heel. "Wha… wha… what are you doing here, wha—"

"Well, Hook found me." She interrupted as he led her into the loft. It smelled like cinnamon, oak, a little something else that she wasn't sure was too familiar or if they brought it back with them from wherever they'd gone. "He brought me here, he said you were cursed."

That's when the seriousness set in. She noted confusion in his eyes. His voice was coming back to him, the hopefulness of seeing her began to fade, and she could feel her sense of home slipping away with every second.

"We're back," but he shook his head, that's not right is it. "Or we never left… or we don't know. We're trapped again."

Trapped, that's a concept.

"But you know who you are." Emma stated, confused by the context of the curse.

"Emma, this curse… we don't know who did it, or why." David's astonishment was gone, left was concern, fear even, not that she ever noted her father to be fearful. She didn't miss the worry. She'd been worry-free and now she's not. "All we know is our last year has been wiped away."

"Wiped away?" She couldn't believe that. Hook remembered every single thing.

"All we remember is saying goodbye to you." David explained. "If feels like yesterday."

"But if you can't remember than how do you know that it's been a ye—"

"Emma!" Her mother's voice sounded from the top of the stairs, calling all of Emma's attention. She looked up to find not just her mother, but…

"Year" Emma finished, breathless once more as her mother tackled her into a hug. There was a pregnant belly braced against Emma's own midsection. Pregnant. Her mother was pregnant. When she left them, she wasn't and now she is and that happened and if that's the only way they've tracked the time, then damn was that a time-tracker.

Mary Margaret released her, looking into her eyes with something she's not so sure was relieve.

"As you can see." David began, but Emma kept her eyes on her mother. "A lot's happened."

"Yeah, we just don't know what." Mary Margaret forced a smile. "The whole year is gone."

"Who the hell would have done this?" Emma searched her brain for any idea. There was none. She didn't know many villains, two reformed ones, three if she counts Hook(which to be honest with herself, she never has. He never was) and another that died with one of those who has since been reformed.

"Uhm,Emma" Had she been looking up she would have noticed the pained look her parents shared with one another before her mother addressed her. "Honey, there's more."

"More?" Emma shook her shoulders to relieve herself of the shiver traveling up her spine at the idea of more. "What is it?"

"Well…" There was another look between those two. "We don't really know how to tell you this." Mary Margaret began, almost antsy.

"So we're just going to show you." David continued for his wife.

"You have more to show than a pregnant belly?" Emma was exasperated at this point. She's been here five damn minutes and its surprise, surprise, surprise.

"Yeah" David sighed before turning toward the stairs and calling up. "Lily! Princess can you come down here?" Emma felt a bit uneasy, the name Lily never rang true in her heart since her adolescence. Neither does her father referring to someone as 'Princess.'

Her eyes drifted to the top of the stairs just in time to see a beautiful young girl with dark flowing hair and glowing emerald eyes. She almost looked like the Young Snow White in Henry's storybook. Her heart stopped beating at the idea of looking at her mother's second daughter, her mother's second chance. Tears burned her eyes, which Emma Swan would normally blink away but she couldn't allow herself to look away from the child for half of a second.

Of course it's impossible that this child is the same child in the belly beside her, but more impossible things have happened in Storybrooke.

"Emma this is Lillian." Mary Margaret whispered.

"Lillian… your daughter?" Emma breathed painfully, not leaving the child's gaze. The girl watched her with anticipation, nerves practically prickling the child's flesh. She was just as nervous about the meeting, she could tell by the way she slowly descended the staircase, fingers fumbling instead of flowing down the railing.

"No," Lily whispered softly. "Yours"

_XXXX_

Emma awoke to a familiar ceiling, the exposed beams of her mother's loft. Which meant this wasn't entirely a dream. She wasn't home in her apartment in New York. Hook really came in and disrupted her life and now she's going to sit up and find her parents… and her daughter.

_State the things you know are true Emma._

_My name is Emma Swan. _

_I'm a mother and a daughter_

_I have a son, Henry… _

_and a daughter?_

Emma sprang up instantly searching around for the three people she last saw before it all went black. She pinpointed each one individually. First her father, sitting across from her in the arm chair, then her mother in the kitchen, drying her hands on a dish towel. Lastly, she scanned the room for a dark haired child, yet there wasn't one in sight.

Perhaps it were a dream.

"Mama?" A timid voice whispered from behind her. She turned to find Lily sitting on the arm of the couch, tears staining her perfectly full cheeks.

"How?" Emma asked without thought of the way it came out. If she were to replay the last word spoken, she would have known how cold she was portraying herself to be. "How do I… how?"

"Uhm, I made a few mistakes, played with toys I shouldn't have and found myself falling through a portal, thinking of my parents' love story," she inhaled deeply afterward, holding it for a moment before letting it go.

"Parents? Right, because it takes two people… who is the other person?" Emma asked fearfully herself.

"The fact that you have to ask gives me pause." Lily frowned. Emma had half a mind to tell the kid that she'd most-likely need to get use to frowning. It's a family trait in this cursed town.

"Right…" Emma frowned. _See_? She didn't have to think hard, look too far into her mind. There's only one person she can imagine being in a relationship with at this point. One person who obviously wants her more than anything. "It's Hook right. He's your dad, isn't he?"

"Yes" Lily smiled his stupidly adorable smile and Emma felt the fall pounding at the back of her head.

She came back here to solve a mystery, not find another child. She just wants to do her civic duty as sheriff and savior and go home. Leave it to Hook to complicate everything.

"Well, we can't tell him." Emma began, causing her mother to rush in from the kitchen.

"Emma" She exhaled before grabbing Lily and pulling her against her chest. "What are you saying, you have to tell him."

"No, I really don't. And neither do any of you." Emma looked around the room before reconnecting her eyes with Lily. "If you tell him, this whole thing will be about the two of us, when there's a threat against the town. I'm sorry kid, but neither he or Henry can know who you are."

"But, Mom?" Lily began but Emma held her hand up to stop her from continuing.

"And…" Emma frowned. "You have to call me Emma." Lily's jaw dropped almost as fast as Emma's heart did even saying that. She watched her daughter's jade eyes turn to pools of salt water. There was a sea of emotions whirling around, but Emma had to stifle every single one because she's not allowed to be vulnerable. Now she's sitting across from her daughter, hoping they share that trait.

"Look Lady, you are crazy if you think I'm going to pretend I'm an orphan because you can't deal with your feelings for my dad." Lily sassed, folding her arms in front of her chest and glaring down at Emma. Despite the tears in her eyes, the kid had spunk.

"Are you even old enough for Teen Angst?" Emma criticized. "Tone it down" The moment stretched with a stare off before more questions dawned. "How old are you and how far away in the future did you fall from?"

Lily tugged on her bottom lip a bit, a trait Emma may or may not have passed down to the child. Emma could see the gears turning in her head through the windows that were her large expressive eyes. Emma waited impatiently as Lily turned her face from view for a moment, scanning the loft before meeting her eyes once more.

"I'm eight." She answered solemnly. "Nine years from now I make a mistake and end up back here with _you_."

"Well, aren't I lucky." Emma mocked. "Wait. You're born within a year?" Suddenly the loft was warmer, the air thicker and the pain from that faint throbbing on full force.

"Oh goodness, Mom!" Lily shouted, flinging her arms up as she hopped off the couch. "I've heard the stories, you know." Lily was pacing now behind the couch, back and forth as Emma tried her damnedest to school her surfacing fears of commitment. "I know you were a coward back then… now." Lily paused, actually taking her time to consider her grammar. "Anyhow, I just didn't realize how quickly it would come out of you."

"I'm sorry!" Emma exclaimed. "Look, in the future, I have nine months, now I had all of twenty-seconds and you're already awarding me 'Worst Mother of the Year.' Give me a break."

"I will, you're not my mom remember?" Lily moved out of reach as Mary Margaret attempted to reach for her. She was up the stairs before anyone had a chance to call out her name. Emma would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit relieved.

Until she looked around to find two very disappointed glares pointed at her. Emma rolled her eyes, stifling a sigh as she waited for the flood of guilt.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret scolded as gently as one could scold. "You grew up thinking no one out there loved you. We know, you remind us constantly. Why on Earth would you ever subject your child to that?"

For as gentle as that scolding was, it still burned in dark places Emma hasn't visited in years. Places where promises rang out to her ears. _I will never let my child think for one moment I don't love them. I will never leave my child parentless. _

"I'm not her mother yet." Emma whispered, afraid what ungodly sound her voice would made if she spoke a fraction higher. "She has a mother in nine years who loves her. You can tell she's loved."

"I'm sure she's one of the most loved creatures in Storybrooke. That however is not the point, Emma." Mary Margaret was on a roll. "The point is, she's not in her time, she's here and probably scared, lonely and you know what hurts her the most right now?"

"What?" Emma rolled her eyes again, angling her head to the side, showing off her own version of teen angst.

"The ever-present fear that she will not come to exist, because you'll do what you always do. Run away." Emma let the words simmer before thinking of a response.

If she were being honest, she didn't have one. Emma wasn't exactly sure how Lily ever came to exist. Emma was determined she would be returning to New York. This might not be something she's willing to share just yet, but she's hoping and praying to return to the life she just left, sans the evil monkey boyfriend.

Did that mean _with _a pirate boyfriend?

"Emma, I think you should go talk to her." David insisted, softer than Mary Margaret tried. "Don't see her as a daughter you're not planning on having. See her as a child, fearful and alone."

"Because I can relate to being afraid and alone?" Emma replied.

"Isn't that what you tell us all the time?" Mary Margaret's voice could not get anymore Regina-like Tonight. Instead of dignifying that woman with a response, Emma stood up and walked up the steps to her old room.

When she quickly arrived, she found Lily on the bed, knees to chest and face buried between. She's seen herself that way too many times to identify it as anything other than loneliness and fear.

"I'm sorry." Emma started, it was the best place she could have planned to begin. "I'm a crap Mom, Lily. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't want to give you the same complex."

Lily didn't budge, not even a sniffle.

"Look, Kid" Emma sat beside her on the bed, roaming her hands over the plaid comforter she claimed as her own for a while. "This is not an ideal situation, but you're here, and we've got to make the best of it. I know the 'best' in your opinion is similar to how things are back home, but that's just not how it can be."

"Because Henry?" The child mumbled into her knees.

"Yeah, Henry and Hook."

"My dad has his memory, Mom." Lily lifted her head up, squinting her eyes with a look Emma would claim to be resentment. "This is about you and Henry, not me, not my dad. I know Henry. He's not just your son, he's my brother and I know if I told him the truth, he'd believe me, with or without a potion." Lily declared. "And don't get me started on how quickly my dad will fall to his knees seeing me. He will know. We're closer than skin and bone, and lying to someone who knows the truth is not my forte."

"You are so damn sassy for an eight year-old, you know that?" Emma groaned. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."

"If I'm not going to exist anyway, I don't have to follow a thing you say." Lily leapt off the bed, turning around on Emma too quickly, too threateningly. Her hands sat on her hips as she glared daggers. "If I wanted to, I could. I won't, because even though this version of you is God-awful, you look like my mom, and I can never deny her anything." Lily sniffled. "What do you want me to say?"

It's the way she folded that reminded Emma most of Killian. The way she wanted to hurt her, with everything in that tiny body but couldn't. It's not fair, but Emma's selfish enough to use that to her advantage.

"You're my sister. The baby in Mary Margaret's belly." Emma directed, heartlessly, not wanting Lily to know she felt remorseful. Children will feed on guilt. "Try hard not to talk about the future, and even harder not to look like you love him, either of them."

"Why don't you ask me to just rip my own heart out?" Lily cried. "That much I could do. I should do, it'll hurt less."

"I really need the sass and angst to just stop." Emma scolded. "This isn't just about you Lily."

"Yes, Mom" Lily sniffled once more.

"Kid, you've gotta stop calling me that." The look on Lily's face would haunt Emma for the rest of her life. She was certain it's the same view that stained her face the day the Swan's told her they'd be giving her back.

Rejection.

XXXX

Emma had left Lily with her parents, asking them to meet her at the sitting room in Granny's, but give her a head start to check in with Henry and Hook. She intercepted the pirate, begging his assistance in carrying the still sleeping child upstairs as her parents slowly walked behind them, out of Hook's sight. Emma acquired the room quickly, before bringing the boys up to the second floor with her. She opened the door, the room housing two queen size beds.

"Right there." Emma directed, Killian following, placing Henry onto the bed, over the blankets. Emma sat at the foot, removing his shoes as Killian turned to what she had claimed as her bed. He pulled the bedspread off of it, laying it over Henry's sleeping form before backing away toward the door.

Maybe he had paternal instincts. Maybe he was more than a pirate, perhaps he was nurturing.

"I'll meet you downstairs."

"Wait!" Emma whispered as loudly as she could. "I uh, got you a room too. I'll go check it out with you before we go downstairs." Killian raised a brow at her before nodding and leaned against the door frame.

After finishing up with Henry she left a note incase he awoke and followed Killian out of the room. In the hallway, he grabbed her wrist before she could move past him.

"What?" Staring at him for the first time since meeting Lily, Emma had to gather up all the mixed emotions and stomp them out quickly. This man was a goddamn shark smelling blood in the ocean when it came to her emotions. By the way he was staring at her, he had already gotten a whiff.

"I was going to ask you precisely that. Did something occur with your parents that I should be aware of?" Emma felt it all bottle up to the rim. She felt nausea, anxiety. She knew he could read her, it wasn't a joke he told, it was the dead truth. If she met his eyes, just once, he'd know everything. So she shook her head and moved past him.

"Let's just go, your room's just around this corner."

"Emma" She turned on him quickly.

"My mom is pregnant. It's weird. She said in the cave that she wanted to try again, but the idea of her getting a second chance at parenting, and me not getting one at being a child doesn't seem fair." Emma looked up to find his eyes staring back at her with sincerity and understanding.

"That is tough, Love. But so are you."

Emma smiled at the compliment, but Killian wasn't done.

"I mean, you are tough to crack and that took absolutely know chiseling. I believe that to be true, but there's something else troubling you more, so much so that you'd rather open up to me about anything than tell me this."

"Killian, stop" Emma implored. "Please."

"Swan, what is it? What's so terrible?" He moved his hand to cup her face and she felt it, the reason they would have a daughter together, the reason he would be the only one she could have guessed to be the father. Still, she pulled away.

"I just told you." Emma's voice shook and she knew then that if she didn't pull herself together, she'd be fucked. "That's all." Staring away from him, waiting for him to turn his eyes away from her, but he wouldn't.

"We'll check the room out later. I want to find out what's got you so vexed. Let's find your parents." Killian descended down the hall toward the meeting room. His pace quickened like he were on a mission. Emma exerted herself to keep up.

"Killian, wait!"

"No." he shook his head. "I don't want another lie."

"Killian," Emma reached for him but he pulled his wrist out of grasp as he jogged down the steps toward the middle level, the sitting room in sight. "Killian, please!"

"Wha—" He stopped abruptly, causing Emma to crash into his shoulder.

"Ow. Killian, there's a…" Emma stalled as she peered over his shoulder to see Lily staring wide-eyed at the pirate.

"Who is this?" Killian spoke lowly, turning back to Emma. She couldn't connect with his eyes. She couldn't even think about his eyes. "Darling, I asked you a question."

"Give me a second." Emma whispered, racking her brain for a response that wasn't a lie. "She's uhm… she's from the future and—"

"Her name." he demanded.

"Lily." Emma whispered.

"Emma?" Killian breathed. Lily was right. He knew. Of course he knew.

"She's our daughter." David stood behind Lily, resting his hands on the small brunette's shoulders. "Our future-daughter, our second-daughter."

"Oh" Killian winced stepping back toward Emma. "She's beautiful." He smiled sincerely before turning to Emma. "Just like you, remarkably so. She looks _so _much like you." Something in his voice, he was either fully aware, or convinced he was painfully wrong.

"Yeah, well that's what happens with siblings, right kid?" Emma forced a smile at Lily who wouldn't remove her eyes from Killian. "Right?"

"Yeah" Lily grunted, dropping her gaze to the ground. "Siblings tend to look alike, sometimes."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Princess." Killian spoke kindly moving slowly toward Lily.

"Killian, don't." Emma warned.

"Why not? I'm amongst royals, I should kneel." He teased before falling gracefully to one knee. He held his hand out to Lily. She slowly rose her chin to meet his gaze. She placed her trembling palm to his.

"The pleasure."Lily's voice still trembling. "Mmmm" She cleared her throat gently. "The pleasure is mine."

"Do I frighten you, Little Love?" Killian's voice was dripping with concern and sincerity.

"Not at all" Lily forced a smile of her own, one much sadder than Emma's. Mother of the year, more like monster of the year. This is something she'd never feel good about.

"What's all this about then?" Killian stared intensely at her. "Your beautiful green eyes are pooling with the most heartbreaking tears."

"Allergies" Lily answered quickly, snatching her hand away from Killian's and running over to the love seat Mary Margaret was sitting on. Emma watched by as her mother wrapped her arms around Lily for comfort, kissing her temple and whispering words of encouragement.

"Sorry Killian" Mary Margaret frowned. Killian almost fell over as he was getting up, his mouth agape.

"Killian?" he murmured. "Milady, you've taken to calling me Killian now?"

"Have I?" Mary Margaret's voice was two octaves too high, giving off just how big her lie was. "Well, Emma must have said it too many times in the last five minutes, it's stuck in my brain. My pregnant brain. I'm pregnant as you can see, with Lily. I'm pregnant with my daughter, Lily. Who is here, from the future, and mine… ours… and I'm pregnant, with her."

"Yeah, we get it. You're pregnant with Lily." Emma glared at her mother. She should have left her at home, god knows that woman is incapable of keeping a secret.

"Right, congratulations." Killian smiled, finally risen from his knee. He turned back to Emma, offering a empathetic pout. Most likely because she confessed to the tinge of jealousy she felt over the pregnancy. "What a lovely pair of daughters you'll have."

If he complimented her one more time, she'd break down and tell the truth herself. She doesn't deserve any sort of kindness while betraying someone she called her 'friend.'

"All right, let's talk about the town. What the hell is going on here?" Emma began, pulling Killian over to the sofa across from her mother and daughter. He sat slowly, his eyes focused on the child staring intensely back at him. Emma's eyes darted between the two of them, noting the way Lily's nails dug into her palms, the way Killian insecurely scratched his ear, trying his hardest not to look back at her. Lily began chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes watering from not blinking once since he sat across from her.

"We don't know."Her mother's voice more stable now. "We watched you drive over the town line with Henry. Regina started to cast her spell to take us all back to the Enchanted Forest, and then…Everything went black."

Lily watched Killian as his eyes moved from one speaker to the next.

"The next thing we remember is waking up in our beds like it were any other morning in Storybrooke." David added.

"Except it clearly wasn't." Mary Margaret rubbed her stomach almost regrettably.

"Almost harvest time and you can't remember the…" Killian stared down at Lily before biting his tongue. "My apologies" He smiled shyly before scratching behind his ear once more. Lily released her bottom lip to reveal the tremble it had.

"Clearly a year has passed, I was in New York. I know that it did." Emma rolled her eyes as she spoke. She couldn't look at her anymore. She couldn't watch the torment she subjected her own daughter to.

"And we don't know where the hell we were. We don't know if we even left Storybrooke." David began to mumble with uncertainty.

"Aye, you did. I was with you all." Killian expelled. Emma focused more on Killian now, his remorseful tone, as if he's ashamed of something.

"In the Enchanted Forest?" Mary Margaret appeared astonished at best.

"Regina's spell brought us back. We spent a brief time with a Prince and Princess named Philip and Aurora. I wasn't feeling the community spirit so I ventured off on my own." Killian sighed, sitting back in his cushion. "Last I knew, you were headed to Regina's castle." He was definitely ashamed of something. Not only did Emma make a note to find out what, but to be sure it was something she could hold against him if this Lily-lie went sour. She'll deal with her fear of him hating her at another time.

"And now you're cursed. Why doesn't that surprise me?" It's not that she wanted Regina to be the villain. She knows that Regina has done her some good. She gave her a new life with memories and moments she always wanted. Even before then, Regina saved Henry, not Emma. She got his heart back, protected it from ever being stolen again. Her son's life is owed to that woman.

It's just, it would be so much easier if Regina were evil. Emma wouldn't regret taking her son away twice. She could find the villain in days, figure out how to stop her, and get the hell out of dodge. She knows that's selfish, but selfish is becoming her middle name.

"Aunt Gina did not do it." Lily spoke up, shaking Emma from her thoughts.

"Aunt who?" Emma turned to her mother, waiting for elaboration.

"Regina" Mary Margaret offered "In the future Lily refer's to her as Aunt Gina. It's cute, really"

"But isn't the queen your step-mother?" Killian too was apparently just as confused, and possibly turned off by the idea of it. His eyes flickered from Emma's parents to Lily. They widened a bit when he realized she was once again staring at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to criticize. Of course you can call her whatever you'd like, Princess."

"Don't apologize to me." Lily smiled sweetly. The sweetest sight however was Killian's answering smile, timid and perfectly timed. His eyes slowly filled with adoration as his lips curved in hesitation.

He was in love with her.

"I don't understand" David began as if her weren't present the last few minutes. "If you left the Enchanted Forest before the curse, how did you know to find Emma and come to Storybrooke?" Emma almost kicked herself wondering why she didn't ask that when she wondered the same thing herself.

"As he was sailing the realms, a bird landed on his ship's wheel." Lily answered, smiling more proudly now. She rubbed her palms against her jean-clad thighs as she rocked forward and back in enthusiasm. She did say this was the start of her favorite part of the story.

"Aye," Killian nodded to Lily before finishing. "With a note instructing me to retrieve Emma and bring her back here." 'Retrieve,' like she were a dog bone or something, not a human with a life and a world all her own. "There was a small vile of memory potion tied to its leg."

"Who sent it?" Mary Margaret all but gasped. This wasn't a bedtime story, this was a year of missing memories they were talking about.

"I assumed you did." Killian supplied glumly. Did he realize he assumed wrong somewhere in the recap? Emma turned to Lily who was holding in her lips as if she'd spill out secrets like a gushing dam.

"Message by bird, that does sound like you." Before the group can ponder too much on the sentiment, the door swings open, two dwarves strolling through at a quick pace. Leroy, the drunk that Emma has come to terms with and Happy, the one who still causes douche chills.

"We lost another one." Leroy laments. "We're down to five now."

"Four, actually, Bashful's not answering," Happy corrects.

"Wait! What is going on?" Emma feels another rush of frustration and another wave of danger storm right in with the dwarves.

"Thank God you're back sister" Leroy answers, only it's not an actual answer, so Mary Margaret steps in quickly.

"It's not just our memories that are missing" and Emma can feel the discouraging thoughts in her mother's mind. "Ever since we woke up people have begun disappearing"

"Whoever cursed us is picking us off one by one." Leroy adds as Emma feels the weight on the cushion beside her disappear.

"Who exactly is missing?" Emma asks fearful of whatever response she'll get.

"Beside those dwarves, we're not really sure" her father answers and the eeriness of the situation only thickens. "There's been a lot of confusion over the past few days, it's been hard to keep track of everyone"

Emma quickly runs through the people she'd hate to hear have disappeared. Neal springs to the top of her list. Without chancing a glance to Killian, who is now what feels like miles away from her, or Lily, who hasn't actually made eye contact with her since the loft, she sets herself to ask.

"Wait, Neal" Emma begins, holding strong to her father's gaze. "Is he here?"

Is it weird that she can feel Killian's sharp intake, deep exhale, and direct glare?

"Well, we haven't found him yet." Her mother sets it up like there's much reason to hope.

"So he might have been taken too?" As much as Emma wants to ignore the pain the idea of that leaves her with, she's too busy ignoring the way Lily tenses up beside Mary Margaret.

"Smart money's on yes." Leroy supplies like the grump he's always been. Where there's hope, there's pessimists.

"Leroy!" Mary Margaret scolds. Hope is having none of that.

"He'll turn up Swan." Killian's voice is scratchier, more distraught. She looks to him, in the dark corner of the room, not allowing his line of sight to raise above a foot from the ground. That's the brooding pirate she remembers. "He always does."

_Just like in Neverland. _

"Some folks are starting to set up camp at the edge of town, he might be there." David attempts another stab at that hope thing. His counterpart sure to follow up.

"Or he might have not gotten swept up in the curse at all." Her mother adds, like clockwork. The only thing is, that's not exactly a hopeful sentiment. If Emma were wishing him here, him not coming over with the curse doesn't make things better. The only question was 'is she wishing he were here?'

"There's only one way we're going to figure this all out." Emma begins, rising from the couch, initiating the end to a dead end conversation. "We need to get your memories back." Without them, they have nothing to go on, and no where to go with the nothing they've found.

"How are we going to do that?" Mary Margaret doesn't seem so hopeful now.

"By finding out who took them in the first place." Emma replies with determination, leaving little to be discussed.

Perhaps there were more to be discussed, but she's frankly just damn tired of talking. Tired in general. There's nothing more they can do tonight so she calls the conversation to a close.

"We'll start first thing tomorrow. A patrol around the town line after breakfast, a town hall meeting after lunch and by dinner, we will be at least one step closer to solving this mystery." Emma nodded to prove her point. The rest of the room nodded back in agreement, minus Lily, who was still watching her father like a hawk. Even Killian nodded before moving toward the door.

"Are you leaving?" Lily spoke up too quickly, jumping off the couch in a scared hurry. "Now? Are you leaving right now?" Killian spun on his heels to face Lily, face flushed as if he'd been caught.

"Yeah?" Emma questions, stepping around the couch and closer to him as David walked the dwarves out. Lily moved to Emma's side without notice. "You're just going to duck out? I have your room key."

"Right." Killian lent a fake smile in Emma's direction before meeting Lily's eye level, once again on bended knee. The very knee Lily swore to Emma he'd fall to. It was sickening how well this child knew him. "And how rude of me to leave your presence without a proper goodbye. Goodnight, Little-Love"

"Lilylove" Lily corrected. "In the future, I'm Lilylove to you" Her smile was brighter than Emma's seen since meeting her. Killian's smile was brighter still. It started from his eyes, the way they crinkle in the corners when he's truly happy. Like when he came to her apartment that first morning. His lips turned into the most boyish of grins, his dimples deeper than she's ever seen.

Apparently Emma wasn't the only one stealing glances at him. She suddenly felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, turning to meet yet another disappointed expression.

"Is that so?" he was beaming. Had they still been in New York, had she been New York-Emma, she might have fallen in love with him based on his happy moments alone. She isn't New York Emma and her mother's request for attention this time came a little more sternly with a nudge to her shoulder. Emma whipped her head around to glare back this time, only to find Mary Margaret mouthing 'tell him.'

'Too late' Emma mouthed back before focusing her attentions once again on his interaction with their daughter.

"Why's that?" he continued. "Are we close?"

"Oh, impossibly so" Lily answered back cheerfully. "I'm your first mate"

"A princess and a sailor?" He chuckled a bit, earning him a furrowed brow from the little girl.

"A princess and a _pirate, _Captain" Lily corrected. "A darn good one too!" Another laugh ruptured from the pirate's throat before extending his hand to Lily. She took it without hesitation this time, more confident now than before. Then he brought it to his lips, planting a gentle kiss across her tiny knuckles before bowing his head.

"Goodnight my pirate-princess. I hope to see you tomorrow, Lilylove" And with that he stood from her level, allowing her hand to gently fall from his.

If Emma had to pinpoint the moment Lily's reality returned, it would have been then, when her father was no longer holding her hand, but planning his leave. Emma noticed her wide green eyes turn somber, her perfect lower lip jut out in a pout, and her shoulders tense in anxiety.

"Lily, you'll see him tomorrow, it's okay." Mary Margaret promised. "Killian, would you be sure to join us for breakfast before you break my daughter's heart?" The way his eyes turned down in Emma's direction made her unsure of which daughter he'd thought of hurting.

Easy, her, Mary Margaret only has one daughter and it's her.

"Of course." He smiled a bit more sincerely to her mother than he did Emma, but his smile faded too quickly to tell when he addressed Emma. "Swan, may I have my key?"

"I'll walk you" Emma supplied.

"I don't wish to rush you along from your parents, who've not seen you for a year. Just allow me my key, I'll bid you all a goodnight." Killian's attempts at persuasion were usually better executed. Not only was he trying to get away, but he was flustered about it.

She'll tell herself she's not giving in because they're friends and she just wants to make sure he's okay. Whatever the real reason may be, she won't face because this one fits the occasion. It also doesn't make her feel completely messed up inside and out.

"Do you have a fresh bottle of rum upstairs?" Emma joked. "One sec okay?" She turned to her mother, giving her a disapproving look of her own, before turning to Lily. "Hey kid, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Whatever" Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Long as Ki…Killian's there." Lily swallowed painfully before walking back to the couch. It was killing her to lie to him, to pretend, which is why Emma didn't take the cold shoulder to heart, just mind. She'd lay awake for hours tonight, thinking of all the circles of hell she'd acquired from this one.

"Cool." Emma shook it off outwardly, moving past her mother to guide Killian out and back through the stairwell to the floor they were staying on.

They were a bit more than 20 feet away when she turned to him, finding a tense expression staining his otherwise handsome features. His breathe seemed labored, which unless the man turned into a couch potato during the lost year, did not transpire from physical inabilities.

"Hey?" Emma nudged him gently, earning her a death glare.

"What?" He replied, sourly.

"What?" Emma repeated. "What do you mean 'what?' What's wrong with you?" And before the savior knew it, she was hauled against a nearby wall, his hand pressed beside her head, his face too close for… she would say comfort, but this was oddly familiar. "Killian?"

"Tell me the truth." He demanded in a low, slightly threatening tone. "Tell me the truth Emma because that's what _friends _do."

"What are you talking about?" Because if she could play dumb well enough, maybe he'd leave it alone.

"Lillian" He breathed, his tone was defeated and painfully sad. He's never sounded this exhausted.

Emma considered her options. If he found out now, he'd still hate her, but slightly less than if he found out later. If he never found out at all, things would be that much easier for her.

Left with deciding between what's easy for her and what's right, Emma Swan in any other zip code would have chosen easy. Here she was the savior, she was all goodness and light and she was obligated to choose right.

Except this had nothing to do with saving anyone, so why do the demands of her birthright get in the way of her personal life so often. She could choose easy. It wouldn't ruin the universe's design. Choosing easy is not only, well, easy, but more appealing in the long run. Choosing right just seems wrong.

"What about her?" She answered after a pregnant pause.

"Who is she?"

"We told you."

"No, David told me, and your mother who did that peculiar pitchy voice she does when she's not being entirely honest."

"I thought the open book thing was something special between us." Emma flirted, because she was desperate and maybe he'd just fall for it. She licked her bottom lip, leaning forward, their faces now only inches apart.

"Emma" he whispered. "is she honestly your sister from the future?"

"Yes," she lied. She lied so easily and for a moment, she thought she was out of the woods until she heard small spattering footsteps against the hardwood, leading straight to them.

"I'm sorry, I can't!" Lily shouted from behind Killian.

Emma pushed him away quickly, moving to pull Lily aside before she blew it.

"Daddy"


	4. Chapter 2, Part II

A/N: I was so conflicted writing this chapter. I wanted to leave the last chapter on a good point, but I also want to start with the next day in Chapter 3. So now we have Chapter 2, part II. Chapter 3 should be out shortly since this chapter is so much smaller.

Thanks for reading.

_**Chapter 2 Pt II**_

"Daddy" Lily's eyes widened in recognition of what she was doing. This wasn't planned. She's unpredictable( '_like the ocean Lilylove, that__'__s your charm__'__)_. She had no idea what she was going to say when she got to them, but she knew she wouldn't sleep through the night not seeing them, seeing _him_ for just one more moment.

Their family is close. They all love each other, Lily has a wonderful relationship with her mother. She's her mom, her rock. She's everything Lily plans to be and more, she loves Emma.

But her father is everything too. His smile, his laugh, the way he smells and walks are all things she doesn't believe she could ever learn to live without. He knows her inside and out. He believes in her, the way she believes in her mother.

And she does believe in her mother, they way children believe in fairytales. She believes the goodness in her is incomparable. She believes no one loves like she does, and no one protects the way she can. She trusts her more than her own instincts(and she inherited her mother's instincts). If Emma says one thing, Lily knows it to be law, and the daughter of the sheriff never disobeys the law.

"Daddy…" Lily swallowed, "Daddy wants me to apologize to you. Mom told him I was cold, rude even. I'm sorry, Emma." She could feel herself getting sick with guilt. What was she doing apologizing to Emma when she should be running to her father, falling to her knees and begging _his _forgiveness. "Oh god I'm so sorry." She choked out, feeling the bile rise higher in her chest.

"Lily?" Emma pulled on her arm, directing Lily to face her. Lily felt a rush of rage, she wanted nothing more than to rip herself out of Emma's reach and run to her father. She wanted nothing more than to tell the truth and face the punishment now, rather than later. She wanted to be free of this burden, she had her own burdens.

_God knows she has her own burdens. _

Still she allowed Emma to hold her, to move her until they were eye to eye. It was then, staring at the green eyes that birthed her own, Lily realized that she would never be able to deny her a thing.

"It's okay. I forgive you. Let's go take you back to them." Emma smiled gently, but there was nothing gentle about the weight of lying to her father. Something about the ease Emma lied with infuriated Lily to tears. She quickly ripped her arm from her anyhow, despite the conflict brewing within. She stared into the dead space between two parents, allowing tears to tumble from her eyes.

"Lillian? Are you alright?" Killian asked full of concern as he moved toward her. The very wallpaper-covered barrier that fenced them in appeared to be growing closer on all sides. She wondered if perhaps, without his voice, she'd be able to continue on with the lie.

"No." She whispered. "Nothing, nothing is alright."

"Lily, calm down, you are just fine." Emma expressed with hidden notes of her own anxiety about the situation. Lily's head was pulsing with a pressure she'd felt only one other time. A time when all she thought she knew about a person shattered too quickly for her to understand.

"No, I'm not." Lily growled, backing away from the woman who looks so much like her mother, but acts so differently, she refuses to believe their the same person.

"Tell us what plagues you, Love?" It was always 'love' with him. 'Love' or 'sweetheart' or 'darling' and on more occasions than not 'my' accompanied it. All were terms of endearment, endearment a lying daughter such as she did not deserve. She didn't deserve him to be her father, and perhaps that's why Emma is so against the idea anyhow.

"I can't." Lily's back hit the wall and she wanted to scream realizing there was no where else to go. Her tears were falling faster now.

"You should go." Emma turned to Killian, stepping between he and Lily. "She's my sister, I'll deal with it." Emma moved to take the key out of her skirt when Killian gently guided her to the side.

"I'm not the type to leave a damsel in distress, Swan." And then he grinned so handsomely at Lily, before kneeling to meet her eye level.

He always kept them leveled. He treated her like an equal, not his child to boss or drag around, to be weighed down by. Whenever they talked, she was either in his arms, or he were on bended knee, discussing all things, good and bad. He respected her, and here she was lying to him.

"Now, let's hear what's got you so troubled." He reached for her hand, and she couldn't control the tremble, nor the sizzle, crackle, burn. "Ah." She could feel him physically restrain the urge to pull his now singed hand away. "You've got fire, I see." He smiled admirably, because he was her father, and he loved her despite her lack of control when she became this emotional.

So when he reached for her hand again, grasping on tightly, the burn began to soothe and heal as she grasped his back. A white glow hovering between their flesh.

"What was that?" Emma gasped behind Killian, but Lily couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Magic, I'm assuming she's just as gifted as you, being that you're both the product of true love." Killian kept his smile present, always sure to encourage her magic, support it with everything in him. He was already so much like her version of him, she believed the fates designed him to father her specifically.

"Is that true, Lily? You have magic because…"Emma stopped herself, holding her stomach and walking to the opposite wall. "Shit" she uttered to herself, still loud enough for Lily to catch on.

"My parents love each other deeply." Lily whimpered, staring down at the space between she and her father. "And I love them. I love them terribly."

"And they love you, lass."

"They shouldn't." Lily seethed in a hush tone. "You shouldn't."

"Lily!" Emma turned back toward them, moving quicker than wind when she pulled her from Killian.

"Emma stop!" Lily cried. "This is wrong. Nothing is right. You're wrong. You are so wrong."

"Lillian, stop it." Emma demanded. "Stop right now."

"No!" Lily tried once more to pull herself away but Emma sunk to her knees, squeezing Lily's hands within her own.

"Please. Lily look at me, I'm begging you."

"What is going on!" Killian directed at Emma. "Swan? Let her go!"

"Killian, leave." Emma ordered.

"Not with you behaving like a mad woman." He argued.

"This has nothing to do with you, you need to leave now" Emma demanded without taking her eyes from Lily. "Lily, tell Killian you need him to leave."

"You are tearing me apart." Lily sobbed, wrenching her hands from Emma's and falling back into the wall. She slid down to her butt, quick to pull her knees to her chest.

"Tell me what's going on." Killian spoke in darker hush tones toward Emma. "Tell me right now, Emma or"

"Or what? You'll leave which is exactly what I've been asking you to do?"

"Or I will ask her myself." Emma followed his eyes to Lily. "And I don't want her to have to choose between us. Please Emma."

"Why ask at all, when you already fucking know?" Emma lifted herself from the ground, stomping away without looking back. Lily flung her head against her knees, sobs wracking her small frame.

"Darling don't cry." Killian swallowed audibly. "Don't do it. You're too brilliant, too special." She couldn't help it, she cried for every compliment she didn't deserve, every time she ever believed her mother loved her father from the beginning. Every moment she wanted to run to his arms since she saw him an hour ago in the meeting room.

She cried for the relationship she may have just destroyed. The lack of hope she has of ever existing. She wept for the things that will turn out wrong because she can't lose this man, in any time.

"Look up at me, please?" he pleaded with her, his hand pressing gently against her cheek, coaxing her head to rise. She met his watery eyes and wasn't sure she'd survive another second of this. She's never once seen him cry and if a single tear falls, she may just die before she can cease to exist.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered weakly. "I respect you too much to lie to your face."

"Ahh." He nodded his head gently.

"Daddy, I'm so sor—ryyyy" She broke out in the most devastating crying fit.

She was inconsolable, despite being lifted into her father's arms, told soft words of encouragement, promises of love and forgiveness. She was delirious with guilt and grieving the relationship she once had with her father.

"What do I do? To soothe you, how do I heal your hurting heart?" He struggled to maintain a solid tone. "Darling please, tell me?"

"Mommy…she…she makes me st-st-state the things…" Lily shivered and stuttered a bit. "I know are true."

"Yeah?" Killian pressed a kiss to her throbbing temple, instantly soothing her enough to continue.

"My name is Lily Jones." she thought harder. "I'm in the past."

"Lovely, continue" he encouraged quietly.

"My parents are Killian Jones and Emma Swan." She sniffled, "That's all I know for sure."

"Know that you are loved. So loved, Lillian."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had to have been an hour and a half. She knew it was time to throw in the towel and assume he left town. That is more than what she would have done in his situation. That's what she wants to do in her situation and she's the bad guy. Still, Emma waits outside his door, hoping she'll find him wondering through the halls, or someone will call her and tell her where to pick up a drunk pirate.

Hope breeds eternal misery. She knows that. She knows that hoping for one moment that he'll forgive her is going to make her sick and sad in the end.

Then she hears his boots clunking against the floor and allows her heartbeat to speed up exponentially. While she's closing her eyes and exhaling slowly in a tireless attempt to slow it down, she faintly recognizes the sound of his feet halting. Her eyes flutter open slowly, chancing a glance at the feet first, finding his ever familiar boots, she allows her heart to do whatever the hell it wants.

"I uhm… I wasn't sure if you… I just wanted to make sure you had somewhere to sleep." Emma felt her breathe speed up in time with her heart, so she stopped talking before she fainted from lack of oxygen.

"I acquired a spare key and the room number from the she-wolf." His voice was emotionless. Which wasn't angry so in theory she should be a bit relieved. Theories were for scientists, and she wasn't a scientist, she was a savior, a sheriff and a smart enough woman to know he's seething on the inside.

"Where's Lily?" She hasn't even bothered standing, which she now realizes is blocking his way inside.

"Do you actually care?" Ahh, there was the anger.

"Of course I care." She whimpered, she thought her tears were done, but apparently, they were just holding out for a new reason to spill. "We should talk about it. Everything, you can scream and shout, but we should…" And then they fell, to her cheeks and to her throat. She choked out a sob, slamming her lips together as quickly as she could to muffle the sound.

"I don't wish to speak to you, Swan." She moved then, quickly to her feet, and meeting his eyes, tears be damned.

"Please."

"No."

"Killian, You have to talk to me about this!" She argued, pressing her hands flat against his chest as he tried to move around her. He pressed his chest against her palms, causing her to stumbled back into the door, his face hovering the closest it's ever been to hers, since their kiss.

"Why? You didn't. You didn't say a bloody word." His voice was low, but not threatening like she would expect, just troubled.

She would have preferred threatening. She can handle it. She reacts well to anger. It's the messiness of this, betrayal and hurt, it's too much.

"I know." Emma whispered. "And I am so fucking sorry, you have to believe me." He pulled away abruptly, staring at her like she were the devil. Emma won't admit to herself just yet how cold she felt without his closeness.

"I damn sure do not have to believe a single thing you say." His eyebrows knit above his angered eyes. He was completely exasperated and ready to blow. "Move."

"Only if you let me in."

"Kindly move out of my way Swan."

"I don't want to have it out in the middle of the hallway, take me inside, yell at me until you feel better."

"I will never feel better about this." He confessed painfully. "The first moments of confirmation, knowing that this child I loved instantly, this child I was positive was mine actually was, were spent with her sobbing her little heart out. And myself, forcing in everything I felt and trying my damnedest to calm her down."

"She's only eight. She'll cry many more times and you'll have more chances to calm her."

"Do you hear the things you say?" Killian shook his head, attempting to move around Emma to get to the door, but once again she blocked him.

"What else do you want me to say? I am so sorry."

"Why?" Killian looked away from her at that moment, staring down at the space between them, space Emma didn't want. "Why wouldn't you want me to know? Why were you so desperate to keep it a secret that you'd do that to her?" He let out another breathe, one that shook along with his chest, one that proved he was falling apart over it.

And then his eyes met hers. There was more devastation in them than the ruins in ancient civilizations, than towns hit by hurricanes. He wasn't just hurt, he was broken. She broke him.

"Killian" Emma breathed. "I don't know." And all at once a mask reclaimed his once distraught expression. He was a brick wall again and she wasn't as skilled a climber as he.

"Rubbish." He growled. "You mean to tell me that you don't know, but you fought tooth and nail, against a sobbing child for it. You wound me in ways I wouldn't wish on my…" He stopped himself, staring into dead space beside her head. "Well, not my child." Killian moved her this time, wrapping his arm around her waist and spinning them so he was with his back against the door and she were on the outside. He turned quickly, revealing his spare key and moving to open the door.

"No, please!" Emma cried out. "Don't. Don't walk away. I'll fix it. I'll fix what I did to her, to you if you let me."

"You know how old she is." He mumbled. "I didn't have any conversations of the sort. I was too busy trying to convince her that she was loved, that our relationship, one that she swears means more than the moon to her, is well-intact."

"Why didn't you bring her back here?"

"I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with that?" he admitted shamefully.

"She's your daughter Killian, you don't have to ask permission." He opened the door, without another word and just when Emma thought he'd slam it in her face, he turned back to her.

"I had to beg you to tell me she was even my daughter, yet I don't have to ask to take her with me?"

"Let me inside. I want to talk about it. I want to fix it. Let me fix this."

"No." Killian shook his head against the idea, but Emma could tell how close he was to folding. "Swan, you…"

"Let me in." she whispered, moving forward to cup his cheek in her hand.

He didn't fold, he melted.

It was only five minutes before they were both sitting at the foot of his bed, his flask warming within his hand. His coat had been abandoned on a nearby chair and his voice was raspy, pained but honest.

They talked a bit about the basics. What they knew was true.

"_Lily has magic." _

"_Lily has your eyes."_

"_She has your hair."_

"_Could be your mother's."_

"_No, it's yours."_

"_She has your smile."_

"_She has a few of yours too."_

"_She's loving, forgiving and incredibly sincere."_

"_She's more than I deserve."_

"_More than I deserve."_

"_She's eight."_

"_Aye you mentioned that."_

"_Nine years in the future, that's where she's from Killian."_

"What?" He stumbled a bit, the back and forth had been easier, but this realization that she's born so soon, when they were currently less than friends after what she just did. "We have to be… for her magic to…How?"

"I get that I'm doubtful but you being doubtful leaves me terrified."

"Emma you didn't want me to know she happens." She knew he'd revisit that question, the question that broke him.

"I don't want to get hurt again."

"And I'd hurt you?" Killian shook his head, "You believe I have it in me to hurt you when all I did for 372 days was think of you?"

"Killian…" He counted every day. He waited for her for 372 days and he counted each one. Still, "What you feel right now isn't promised tomorrow."

"You just betrayed me, and our daughter, yet my feelings haven't mild in the slightest. I understand fear, I've been afraid before but I also believe there's much more to this than fear. Tell me, is it me?"

"What?"

"Is it the idea that it's me? If she came here and was Baelfire's daughter, would you have told him, given he was around to tell?" He recoiled a bit into himself. Insecurity does that to even the most confident of men.

"Killian you're way off here." She reassured.

"Tell me, is it my piracy? My past? I would understand if you don't see me as an ideal father Emma. I would virtually understand anything you told me because I want to understand Emma. I want to understand why, I don't want to be angry with you, I just want to understand."

"Killian… It's not you." She hoped her eyes could convey all the promise his always do.

"Then what?"

"I sat with you last night, and I could see myself—with you and I came here today and Lily tells me that exact thing, and I realize how quickly my walls fall down and that scares me shitless! You have always scared me to the point of doing something drastic to keep from letting you in. The giant's lair, Neverland, you just, you come in with your eyes and your smile and your charm and I don't want to fall for it, because you'll leave. You will leave Killian."

"Don't tell me what I'll do Swan. When I'm in something, it's for the long haul. I spent 300 years on a long haul."

"Killian…" Emma began, miserably. She turned her body toward him, pulling his hand into hers. "I need something from you, and I know it will hurt, but please do me this favor."

"Anything" He promised her for the third time now.

"Stop trying to win my heart." She saw the confusion burn into hurt so quickly in his eyes. "I will fall in love with you, and I don't want that, so just stop. Please. I don't want to be with you, if I can help it."

"Emma, honestly?" He attempted to pull his hand from hers but she clenched hers tighter around it.

"Please." She whimpered, no longer afraid of how vulnerable she is with him. Simply afraid it will last.

The moment stretched on, he watched her, scrutinizing everything from her trembling lip and shaking hand, to her tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. Then all at once, he looked away from her, hiding his own expression.

"As you wish" he mumbled. Emma released his hand and stood from the bed quickly, meaning to leave before she changed her mind of saw the heartbreak in his eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She ended, pulling the door open.

"Swan!" He jumped up from the bed. "Lily… she… she won't exist."

"I know. I'm so sorry." She fled before he had a chance to change her mind. Slamming the door shut, she paused for only a second, but a second long enough to hear him fall apart.


	5. Chapter 3:Meeting Henry

A/N: First and foremost, thank every single one of you who have taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review my story. I can't express in words how happy it makes me to post my first multi-chapter fic and have people interested.

I realize now I don't really have a second because I still don't know what to say in these a/n's other than **I do not own OUAT** but have once again borrowed some dialogue. Without further blabbering on my part, I present you chapter three.

Thanks for reading.

_**Chapter 3: Meeting Henry**_

Lily got all of two hours of sleep. She spent the night tossing and turning and fretting over the state of her parents' love. If you could call it that, this early in the game and she's already managed to cause a fight between them.

So one could call her eager. Eager to get to the diner, meet them and see if they managed to make it through the night without completely obliterating any chance of conception. Lily wanted to know for sure that they'd always find each other, they'd always fall in love, despite unwilling circumstances. She wanted to believe in her parents, and the magic of their love coursing through her blood.

After rushing her grandparents out of the door and down the road, they finally made it. Before too long, they were walking through the diner door, welcomed by the traditional bell. Lily smiled at the familiarity. The town never changes, just the people. That's the magic of Storybrooke. Lily moved through the door proudly, not missing the turning heads in her direction as she appeared, her grandparents directly behind her.

"Lily!" Emma called as if she wouldn't hear her, sitting only two feet from the door. Lily turned slowly. The last few moments spent with this version of her mother last night were dreadful, and she's ninety-nine percent sure her mother is angry. For whatever twisted reason, she didn't want Killian to know. Now he does, and Lily's sure her parents are worse than they were before.

"Emma" she pleasantly sighed, although her insides were tearing at the seams, calling her mother by her first name, as if she were never her daughter. She moved quickly to sit beside her as David moved to grab another chair from a different table. Across from her sat Henry.

_Henry_

Somewhere between lying to her father and spilling the beans, Lily forgot she'd be seeing Henry Today. She's seen pictures, Regina's house is littered in pictures, but to see her brother this young, was more powerful than any magic. His face was so much less defined, and cleanly hairless. His eyes were brighter now, and his hair much less perfected.

Her Henry was away at school, it had been a few weeks since Thanksgiving break and she knew he'd be back by the end of the month for Christmas. They video chatted often, and sent care packages back and forth once a month. Her Henry was dedicated to keeping up his brotherly role. She adored her Henry, she valued him like a rare treasure, never having met anyone nearly as imaginative and determined.

However, if this Emma wasn't her mother, than she can't assume this Henry will be her Henry either.

"Henry," Emma began cheerfully, standing and placing her hands on Lily's shoulders. "This is Mary Margaret and David and their niece, Killian's daughter Lily." _Niece? _Just another lie to learn for Lillian Jones.

"Nice to meet you all." Henry smiled sincerely until his eyes met Lily's. "Uhm… you're Killian's daughter?"

"Yes" Lily nodded uncomfortably. She wanted to add how she was also his sister, but the timing seemed inopportune. "It's a pleasure to meet you Henry."

"Yeah…" Henry stared at her for another moment before turning to Mary Margaret and David, who were now also seated at the table. "So how do you know my mom?"

Lily shared a glance with Emma, one that was sure to express how crappy that just felt. Emma offered an apologetic smile before tuning into the conversation between Henry and her mother. The fact that there was even a hint of apology in her features lodged a brick of confusion in Lily's gut.

_Was she mad or not?_

"We're old friends." Mary Margaret smiled graciously.

"Yeah? Where'd you meet?" Lily tugged at the flesh of her lips when Mary Margaret's smile faltered a bit. Her grandmother was not gifted in fabrications.

"Uhm, Phoenix" She spoke simultaneously while Emma answered 'Here"

"Phoenix, then here." Emma reiterated, feeling before taking her seat.

"But I thought you were only in Phoenix when you were in that _place_?" Henry questioned, Lily just thankful it weren't her lies having holes poked through them.

"That's how we met." Mary Margaret grinned awkwardly. "We were cellmates."

"Yeah? What were you in for?" Henry continued his game of jeopardy.

"Ban-ditry." Mary Margaret's smile only tightened, so much so, Lily's own cheeks hurt at the sight. The pregnant woman took her own seat next to Henry as David sat at the foot of the table. "People make mistakes. The important thing is to find a way to keep moving on." David snickered quietly to himself before winking at Lily.

"Did you know my dad?" Henry eagerly continued his line of questioning.

"Should we order? Let's order." David attempted at a subject change, Henry still staring skeptically at their grandmother.

"Shouldn't we wait for my dad?" Lily turned to Emma with a pout forming.

"Honey, I don't think he's coming. He didn't uhm… feel well, last night when we got in." Emma's eyes read a different story, one of a late night fight that left dark circles and tale-tell signs of a lack of sleep.

"Oh," Lily frowned. "Alright then."

"You look a lot like my mom." Henry uttered from across the table. Lily slowly rolled her neck in his direction. "It's weird. Like, a lot like her."

"Hmm." Lily shrugged awkwardly before taking a sip of Emma's cocoa. "Yes, three cheers for cinnamon, let's order some more of this." Lily suggested brightly.

"And you like cocoa the same way she does?" Henry furthered his investigation.

"All of Storybrooke likes cocoa this way." Lily supplied stalely. She met Henry's distrustful eyes as Emma's fingertips made contact with the flesh at Lily's hairline. She tilted her head to give Emma better access to the piece of hair she was attempting to tuck behind Lily's ear. A small bit of her confused haze evaporated.

"How are you, Today?" Emma's tone was so gentle, Lily had an overwhelming sense of home. She wanted nothing more in that moment than to climb to Emma's lap and rest her head against her mother's shoulder, letting her soothe away the heinous memories of last night.

But that wasn't her mother. At least she hasn't been, and now it's like a complete 180 and she isn't sure how to react, if she should trust.

"M' okay." Lily shrugged. "I probably slept as well as you did." Emma softly guided Lily's chin toward her, staring directly into her eyes.

"You'll see him soon, Baby, I promise." Lily had to blink away the tears suddenly burning her lower lash-line. It was her mom. It was her mom staring back at her and she trusted everything she saw in this woman's eyes.

"How do you know my mom?" Henry asked more urgently, as if his patience was wearing thin.

"My family does." Lily answered without looking at him. Emma's smile slipped, but she didn't intervene. She understood, honestly she would have understood anything as long as it didn't include lying to her father again.

Still, if Emma was so concerned with telling lies, perhaps she might be sure the lies make sense.

"Yeah, but you weren't born yet. You're only what, seven?" Henry was relentless.

"Excuse you." Lily turned on him with a scowl. "I am eight thank you very much. Almost eight and-a-half, if you're wondering."

"Okay, well I'm _almost_ thirteen and in the last thirteen years, we've never met. How would you know my mom if you don't know me?"

At that moment, the diner was distracted by the sound of glass clambering to the tile floor. The table looked to find Regina staring intensely at Henry. Lily, having to pretend as if she had no relation to Henry too, understood completely, pulling herself from her seat without second thought.

"Oh..uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Regina sputtered out, planning her escape.

"Aunt Gina?" Lily's heart went out for the woman. It was terribly unfortunate being in the presence of Henry Mills when he hasn't a clue who you are. She's learning first hand this morning. She started toward Regina when Emma placed her hand on Lily's shoulder, halting her. She moved past Lily, relinquishing a look that warned 'stay here.'

"Regina," Emma spoke quietly, moving to reach the mayor. "Regina we need to talk." Regina stood frozen, Lily could hear her heart shattering from the table. "Come on." Emma motioned toward the back.

Lily stared at the spot Regina just moved from before Henry stole her attention once again with more questions.

"So, Killian's your dad?"

"I thought we established that." Lily smiled coyly. "Yes, Killian Jones is my father."

"And your mom?" Henry pressed on. "Is Killian still married to her?"

"Talking about me are we?" an accented voice came from the aisle. Lily's heart immediately sped up at the sight of her father.

"Dad!" Lily couldn't contain herself, her legs were itching to run and leap to him, her mouth turning upward so quickly she couldn't keep her lips together.

"Lilylove" He beamed, moving closer to sweep her out off her feet and into his warm and loving arms. "My love, how are you?"

"Oh, I missed you so much." Lily confessed, clinging to him for dear life.

"And I you, Darling" His voice was sadder now, secrets laying just beneath the surface of his tone. She could sense them, festering within him. And what she wouldn't give to relieve that burden. She knows about burdens.

"Daddy?" Lily pulled her face from his shoulder, staring deeply into his somber blue eyes. She runs her small hands over his scruffy cheeks. "What's wrong?"

He stares at her for only a second with a bit of devastation before he schools his features into his typical dashing expression. A charming smile paints him happy.

She knows better than to believe it.

"Nothing in the world is wrong when you're right here, my love." He exhaled and it's almost as if the pain whispered to her, warning her that it is still very present beneath the surface.

"I know I shouldn't talk," she begins, guilt from last night flaring up again. "But I know that you're not telling the truth."

"I'm a bit exhausted." He confessed, only he's still lying and she still knows it's much worse than she could ever guess. "Enough about me, you've met Henry then." Killian set Lily down in her chair before taking Emma's seat.

Lily kept her eyes trained on her father's face, waiting for a clue. He however ventured a glance, smile and nod at Henry.

"Morning all" Killian brought his dim smile around the table to her grandparents as well.

"So you have a daughter." Henry nodded awkwardly at Killian.

"Aye." Killian answered, wrapping his arm around Lily's chair.

"She looks a lot like my mom, doesn't she?" Henry could never let things die. Not even as a child, Lily now realizes.

"Aye, they're both beautiful if that's what you're saying." Killian grinned and Lily felt a new rush of hope, just at the comfort that her father still could compliment Emma.

"Right. Why didn't you mention her?" Henry continued, his tone sharpening with each question. Lily began to feel less uncomfortable and more irritated. Henry doesn't seem to be a fan of her at all, which is preposterous because in her future, her Henry lives and breathes for his little sister.

"Because speaking of her, would have only hurt my heart with how badly I was missing her. I was in New York for about three days, right love?"

"Three dark and depressing days" Lily confirmed dramatically.

"I thought we had fun!" David jested from across the table. "We baked cookies and mad—"

"Hey!" Emma shouted, as she moved down the aisle of the diner to the table. She rested her hand on Lily's chair, Killian quickly moving his arm away from it. "I just got a call, and we have to get to town line now." Emma explained. David was already rising from his seat when Emma turned to Killian. "You're… you're still helping with this case, right?" She sounded so unsure, all the hope dwindled from Lily's heart in an instant.

"Aye." He nodded, but didn't favor her a single glance.

"So soon?" Lily pouted. "You just got here."

"I know love, and now I have to leave again." he mimicked her pout, forcing Lily to smile at his silliness. "I'll see you soon."

"Oh, I suppose." Lily smirked, watching him under full, dark lashes. "I'll miss you terribly, of course."

"Well, of course." Killian grinned mischievously, "I'll miss you just as much." That's when Lily caught sight of the pain once more. Something so dark that his eyes dimmed in time. The blue was darker, as was his grim expression. He stared at her with conflict.

.

"Dad?" Lily whispered, leaning closer to press her hand against his chest. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll just miss you." He repeated, standing from the chair. He moved forward, pressing a long kiss to her crown. "Be good." And with that he out of the door.

Emma lingered behind to say goodbye to Henry. Lily's heart stalled as she waited for Emma to stop and give her the same goodbye. Just when it looked dimmest, as if she'd just walk on by, Emma stopped, leaning down to Lily's eye level, her hands resting against Lily's knee.

"I'm sorry that I had to take him so soon. You can blame me, alright and I'll get him back to you as soon as I can." Emma gave a sincere smile as she straightened herself up. Lily caught a glimpse of the same conflict in her eyes now too.

"So, that leaves the three of us." Mary Margaret smiled eagerly. "What should we get into?" Lily and Henry shared a look of mutual disinterest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emma moved quickly to her bug, not thinking twice about whether or not he'd hop in. Of course he'd get in. Then she noticed he was standing beside David's truck, contemplating who better to ride with. Emma stealthily watched the exchange between her father and the pirate. David kept gesturing with a nod to ride with Emma, but Killian shook his head bitterly against the idea.

Emma gave up and got in the car, surely it doesn't matter who he rides with, they're going to the same place. Still, she hasn't actually talked to him since last night, she still hoped he'd help with the case, Hell, she even hoped they would stay friendly.

Which was completely selfish and entirely insane.

Killian had a stupid way of forgiving her. He was a pirate captain, he 'gave no quarter' and took what he pleased. He was supposed to be ruthless, daring and dangerous. She's reduced him to such a sad and timid simp. He did everything she asked, even when she asked the unspeakable.

Emma was ripped from her thoughts when her car door opened, a grumbling pirate getting in.

"I thought you were riding with David?" He slammed the door shut as an answer. Apparently they weren't on speaking terms. Not that she doesn't understand why he wouldn't want to speak to her, of course he wouldn't want to speak to her, she did the unspeakable.

"You still wish for my help?" Killian asked after another moment went by and Emma still hadn't started the engine.

"I'm not going to ask you to help me." Emma expressed, quietly, avoiding any looks to that side of the car. "If you want to be a part of something again, I'd love for you to do it by my side. We work well together."

Killian just exhaled a heavy and dark breath.

"Or… run far away from me, I get that too." Emma mumbled to herself. He stayed quiet, allowing her to spew out whatever inconsiderate, bull came to her mind. "I think this whole Lily thing is—"

"Do not talk to me about Lily." he gritted out slowly. "Do you hear me?"

"Killian listen"

"No. We are not talking…" the strength of his voice went out, all that's left was a cracking sound. Emma sat unsure if it were his throat or his heart. "We will not talk about her." he exhaled after a second or two of pulling himself back together.

"Just hear me out." Emma pleaded.

"If you so much as mention how much better off I will be, or how you know what I'll do and how I feel, I will jump out of this vessel while in motion." He warned.

"I was just going to say that, I saw her differently Today. I care." Emma confessed. "I… I don't want to… I would hate if… shit." Emma sighed. "Just forget it."

"You realized she could be yours."

"Ours." Emma corrected. "And I promised I'd never give another child up." Emma whispered. "What I said last night, I meant. I can't, I won't fall for you, but somehow some way we could make Lily still happen?"

"Are you suggesting relations, Swan?" And as much as she hates the innuendo and sexual bravado, she longed for it in this moment where there wasn't any for miles. He looked at her, his voice void of all interest, just despair.

"That's how babies are made, right?" Emma sassed.

"Emma, she's not just any babe." he sighed. "She's magical, and loved, and if you do anything different, if we aren't together, or in… I'm not going to very well say that word, I know you'll just shut down once more, but if we aren't, then she won't be Lily."

"You wouldn't love her if she didn't have magic?" Emma challenged, knowing damn well it would strike a chord and distract him from that word he won't say.

"Don't insult me." He scolded. "Of course I would, but she still would not be that child who made you reconsider."

"So what? What do we do now?" Emma asked impatiently. It's tiring for her to find a happy median and it still not be good enough. None of her ideas are ever good enough. She always has to rely on someone else to plan, and her to just act.

"Don't pretend I get any say in the way our lives intertwine."

So she didn't. She didn't pretend or say anything else. She let the words rest, festering in her thoughts like chicken pox. If she scratched at them, it would only make them worse, make them spread until her entire mind is cluttered with ideas of little Lily's walking around with and without magic, with and without dark hair, green eyes, and a smile like the sunrise.

And he didn't speak either. He just sat, breathing deeper, deeper in thought.

As soon as they reached town line, Killian quickly moved from the bug, walking around to meet David before Emma could say a word. They were quickly debriefed on the identities of the men flocking near town line. Apparently, the Merry Men were real too, but Emma told herself to stop being surprised by every character introduced. So she smiled graciously and nodded.

"This, this is where he was taken." Robin approached the trio, breathlessly. His men were scattered about with weapons still drawn. He turned back around moving toward town line to indicate the exact vantage point.

"I wouldn't step over that line if I were you." Emma cautioned with enough worry to get Robin to stop in his tracks and turn to face her.

"You think Little John was taken because he made an attempt to cross that line?" Robin replied. David nodded, recalling the last few days' events.

"It makes sense, the dwarves were out checking that line to see if anyone was coming or going when they disappeared." he informed. "What exactly took Little John?"

"We didn't get a good look. Some manner of beast with wings." Robin

"That sounds a lot like the monster that attacked me in New York." Emma revisited Walsh's metamorphosis. His red eyes and fur, and the wings, oh god those disgusting wings will haunt her dreams for years to come.

'Oh, the monster you were going to marry?" Killian was so damn smug, it was exhausting.

"You were going to marry someone?" David asked incredulously._Great. _

"Did you just miss the part where I said monster?" Killian groaned inwardly, apparently still bitter about more than just last night.

"We need to find Little John!" Robin shouted, reclaiming attention. Rightfully so, this whole _monster- _talk just made Emma cringe.

"It may lead us to everyone else whose gone missing." Emma may or may not have had Neal in mind. "David, take him and the rest of his…" Emma searched for the words, but they were—

"Merry Men." Robin supplied.

"Right, them." Emma nodded grateful for the aid in remembering her Enchanted Forest Vocabulary. "…And run a search grid. See if you can find any sign of the missing guy." Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, but Killian. Her stubborn pirate

"Are you not joining us Swan?" Funny that he gave a damn now, when she was certain he wished to be miles from her a few minutes ago in the car.

"Not yet," Emma answered as emotionlessly she could. Still, his eyes brought something within her to it's breaking point. She moved forward, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow and pulling him toward the bug.

"What are you going to do?" he spoke in hush tones, apparently under the impression she dragged him over here to continue talking about her plan.

"I have to have a meeting with the town, figure out what's going on here in the shortest amount of time and fix it so I can—"

"Move on, go back to New York. Right."

"What?" Emma let out a defeated sigh. "No, I just want to make Storybrooke safe, okay?"

"And what's to keep you safe?" He questioned protectively. The time to be protective is not now. Not ever, really. Emma is the savior, she's the protector, and she doesn't need a hero.

"Do you actually care?" Emma challenged. Maybe she wanted him to tell her 'yes' and give her some speech about how she means much more than she believes. How he believes in her, and somewhere, in the underlining of every sentence, how he loves her.

If she were ready to hear anything along those lines.

As if just a small push into him would make everything right. Maybe if he just secretly kept trying, snuck up on her and swept her off her feet, maybe she wouldn't feel like running, maybe she could fall, secretly. Maybe he wouldn't break her heart, and she'd still be thinking she got what she wanted.

"No" He turned on his heels, marching back to David quickly.

Maybe getting what you want only breaks your heart.

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

The day was taking an eternity to wind down. Lily had efficiently dodged her first encounter with The Wicked Witch, but to be honest, wasn't sure she could handle another one. Sitting in the booth, knowing she was practically the source of all evil, and not being able to vanquish her made her feel more cowardly than brave. But the rules were clear. This was a sensitive journey, time travel is not for the faint of heart, or the absentminded. Lily had to be sure to keep her wits about her. She had to be sure to keep her heroic tendencies inside of her.

So as soon as she could, she wanted to find an outlet for her adventurous, danger-loving nature. She managed to persuade her grandmother to take she and Henry to the library afterward. Although, Belle was at the pawn shop, one of the fairies working as the clerk to Lily's dismay.

Still, before too long, Mary Margaret tuckered out a bit, with her pregnancy drawing closer and closer to the finish line. Without much argument, the three found themselves back at the loft awaiting Emma's arrival.

They had already ate dinner with their grandmother when Emma strolled in, Regina in tow. Henry was helping Lily in the kitchen, she was washing and he was drying while Mary Margaret relaxed on the couch. Things between her and this past version of her brother were still a little indifferent. On the bright side, he stopped questioning her genetics and now was only concerned about logical things, like why they were staying in a hotel instead of their own home, if they lived here, or what happened to her mother.

At least the scrutinizing glares stopped.

"Hey," Emma moved toward the island of the kitchen, leaning over the bar to view them both. "How was your day?" She asked Henry hesitantly. Lily felt as if she were imposing on some special moment, so she looked elsewhere. Her first focal point was Regina's grim appearance. Almost as unsettling as being blatantly ignored by her own mother, Lily decided against both and continued to wash dishes alone as Emma pulled Henry around the counter.

"Good" He replied shyly. "Storybrooke is a weird place. Did you know there's a library inside of a clock tower?" Lily really hoped he wasn't going to continue to offend her home. Their home, they both loved that library and that clock tower. It held one of their special places.

"I did know that." Emma smiled sincerely. "I've actually been there before. Come here, I want you to meet someone."

She sounded so chipper, as if it weren't a terrible situation to continue introducing her son to his own family. It only disturbed Lily further.

"This is Regina Mills." Emma continued after guiding Henry to his other mother. "She's the mayor of this town and Lily's aunt, and she wanted to meet you."

"Is something wrong?" Henry searched Emma's face. _Yes! _Lily wanted to scream.

"No, no." Regina quickly recovered. "Nothing's wrong. Your…mother just told me a lot about you. I hear you like school, and that you're good at English."

There was unbearable, and then there was this, just one step above. Regina looked so pained with every word she spoke. At least Emma knew who she was, Henry was showing a distasteful dose of 'stranger-danger' toward his own mother. Things could be worse for the future savior.

"Uhm yeah, why'd she tell you all this?" He questioned skeptically once more.

"Because she couldn't be prouder of you." Lily had to look away for good before she shed the tears pooling in Regina's eyes herself. No one should have to go through this. No one. "While you're in town, I was thinking, perhaps Lily and I could give you a tour sometime, show you around. Maybe we could even stop for ice cream." Of course, Lily couldn't help but look up at the mention of her name and ice cream in the same sentence.

"Yeah. I'd like that." Henry actually smiled for the first time since his mom left this morning. Regina smiled too, sincerely. "So uhm, it was nice meeting you."

Lily's heart broke for the mayor. Regina moved in for a hug and Henry stalled her with a handshake. The look on Regina's face was sheer devastation, the type of devastation that starts wars. The type of devastation that landed them all in this cursed town to begin with.

As Henry moved away from them and toward the sofa, Lily moved from the counter to the women as quickly as she could, but the door burst open. David and her father with fearful looks in their eyes.

"We need to talk." The prince spoke from within him, allowing no discussion.

Lily was beginning to question how visible she was. She felt more like a fly on the wall as all the adults in the room walked outside. The loft door practically shut in her face.

"Lily?" Henry walked back out from the living area, his face a bit bewildered. Lily turned quickly, forgetting there were anyone in the loft when she was feeling entirely alone all day.

"Yeah?" Lily answered softly, holding in the urge to cry. She moved to keep her eyes focused on the door, but her ears zoned in on the sound of Henry stepping closer across the creaky floorboards.

"Who _are_ you?"

XXXXXXXX

"Seriously? She's real too?" The freaking Wicked Witch of The West was real? That's not a franchise Emma wanted to venture into. It was hard enough dealing with the princess and villain quadrant.

"Says the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming." Killian countered. Apparently he's been reading up on this world's fairytales because this time last year, he wouldn't have understood their fame reaching the realm without magic.

"I don't get it,it's not lik—" Emma quickly halted her speech as the loft door ripped open, unsure who would come out and hear what. When she was met with her own green eyes staring back at her, fragile and wide, Emma felt a pinch in her gut.

She hadn't even acknowledge Lily since the diner. That look was more than likely entirely her fault. The timid way she stared only at Emma, her hands tucked in the pockets of her leather coat.

"What's going on?" She whispered, calmly. "I thought we were staying inside." Lily softly shut the door behind her before moving between the group to Emma and Killian.

"I… I may have made a mistake." Lily expressed with a trembling voice. She moved toward Emma on shaking legs. "I'm sorry. I usually have such better control but, when I feel alone—"

"You're not alone." Killian interjected, reaching out for his daughter, but she maneuvered out of his reach, continuing to Emma. Emma tried her best not to witness the look of complete rejection on his face.

"Mommy, I'm sorry." Lily whimpered, holding out her hands, her palms facing upward. There was a bright orange and red glow, cracking like lava across Lily's flesh.

"Oh, my." Mary Margaret gasped, causing Regina to react, moving forward to study Lily like she were some science experiment and not a child.

"Does it hurt?" Regina questioned, her hand hovering over Lily's. "Is it hot?"

"It won't hurt me, but you…" Lily mumbled. "Just don't touch me, please." Regina moved a step back, staring at Lily with concern. Everyone in the hallway had their eyes on Lily, but Lily kept her eyes on Emma.

Emma was conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to cradle Lily and explain that it's aright, accidents happen and in no way was she to blame for how out of whack her emotions were.

Still, a large part of her was more concerned about whether or not Henry saw, and how she'd have to explain this to her son.

"Henry saw this?" Emma asked finally, after staring at Lily's hands for a longer moment than appropriate.

"That's your first thought?" Killian moved with haste, picking Lily up from Emma's presence. "Her hands are glowing and she's close to tears afraid you'll be angered by this."

"Lily, I'm not mad at you. Things like this happen, but I need to know if Henry saw your magic?"

"He's the one who pointed it out." Lily's lip quivered as she exhaled. "He… he thinks I'm some kind of monster."

"Well we both know you're not." Emma ran her hand down Lily's arm, trying her hardest to be the mother this little girl needs right now, but all she can think is how she doesn't understand her own magic, how Regina should just adopt Lily too.

"What do you want me to do?" Lily whispered. "What am I supposed to say? I just ran, quickly. I just… I'm sorry. I know you think I planned this, because I told my Dad, but I was willing to keep this secret for you, I really was, I swear." Lily rambled on until a cry ripped from her throat.

"No." Emma reassured her, moving to take her from Killian's arms. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself, and this situation, and the stupid Wicked Witch of the West, but not you, Baby, not you."

"What do you want me to do?" Lily revisited, and it's not as if Emma hadn't heard her the first time, she just didn't have an answer, she still doesn't.

She shouldn't have to do anything. She shouldn't be forced to deal with this.

"Nothing Baby, I'll handle it." Emma promised. "Or, we could go in there together, you could use your magic and show him something cool, and I'll explain that magic exists."

"That's all though, you won't tell him who I am?" Lily questioned bitterly. "Who any of us are?" Emma felt the immediate shift of eyes from Lily to Emma.

"It's easier to believe in magic now. We'll start with him just believing in magic. Okay?"

"Okay." Lily mumbled. Emma could sense her sadness, not that it took extra special spider senses or anything to notice the pout in her lips, or the slouch in her shoulders. Sure as she could tell, so could Killian, and he was there in an instant. His hand glided through Lily's dark waves, his lips pressing a thoughtful kiss to her temple. He smiled down at her when she looked at him with admiration.

"Dad."

"Look at your hands, Lilylove, they're calmer now." He pointed out, causing both Lily and Emma to view the hands. Just pure, smooth flesh. "It must have been your mother's doing." he mused. "Come, let's get this going so we can get you to bed at a reasonable hour tonight."

"Right." Lily nodded. Emma sat her down on cue, but held onto Lily's hand tightly as they walked back through the door of the loft.

Henry sat on the couch, typing away on his phone. Surely alerting the universe there were 'monsters' among them. Emma heard the door finally shut behind them as the last of six people piled through the door. She glanced around to find that Regina stayed to watch the exchange, her ever-present frown in full effect.

Killian's hand found the small of Emma's back, guiding her forward with Lily at her side. Henry looked up from his phone with a fearful look in his eyes.

"Mom!" he leaped up from the couch. "Mom, did you know?" He all but shouted. Emma nodded solemnly before guiding Lily behind her. "And you didn't say anything?"

"Henry sit down." Emma directed calmly. He sent Lily a wry look before following instruction. His eyes remained glued on Emma and Lily's joined hands. "So, remember when I asked you yesterday morning if you believed in magic?"

"Mom, don't." Henry shook his head, unappreciative of her attempt at beginning this.

"Lad, Lily is extraordinary." Killian stepped in , guiding Lily back to the forefront. "She is brilliant, and gifted. There is magic in this world, and Lily possess quite a bit of it." Killian explained proudly. "You remember our discussion on Peter Pan in the car?"

"Is she Tiger Lily?" Henry released a mocking chuckle.

"Omg, yes, that's what you…" Lily stopped herself, overly excited and unsure as to why, she sucked in her bottom lip and silenced herself almost immediately.

"She's human, and her feelings get hurt just as anyone else's." Emma defended. "Consider her feelings okay?"

"Sorry." Henry was always quick to apologize. He wasn't a bad kid, and he certainly wasn't a rude child. He just joked to avoid the awkwardness, something he must have inherited from Emma. "Lily, can I see some of your magic?"

"Not if you think I'm a monster." Lily mumbled, pulling herself closer to Emma's side. "I don't want that."

"Not at all." Henry promised, standing from the couch. "I want to see what you're capable of."

"You can't tell your friends Henry." Regina stepped in. "Lily is a special child and if you tell the world of her, Storybrooke will be overrun with reporters and news crew, and possibly government agents meaning to take her from us. Please. The secrets of this town, of this child must stay secret." Henry watched Regina, nodding in understanding every few seconds until she finished.

"I promise. Come here, kid. Show me what you got." Emma glanced down to find a grin staining Lily's face.

"Okay." Lily moved forward, releasing Emma's hand as she went. Lily stood in front of Henry, hands stretched out and palms toward the ceiling.

Emma watched Henry's mouth gape open when flames appeared in the palms of the little girl's hands. She smiled at the ease of which this all occurred. As Emma turned to find her family beaming at Lily, Killian looking on with the proudest grin and her son staring at Lily as if the moon were molded to appease her, she felt something any normal girl would describe as hope. Perhaps things didn't have to look so dim. If Lily's smile could be this bright, maybe things would become brighter with each day. She's already miles from last night, reconsidering her stance on having a child with dark hair and the ability to brighten a room, no magic required. 


	6. Chapter 4: Of Fears and Fate

A/N: Thank you once more for reviews, faves and follows. Some of you brought tears of joy to my eyes and a giddy little dance. This chapter may be one of the least angsty ones to read. To be completely honest, angst might just be easier for me to write which is why next chapter may be one of my absolute favorites I've written. Anyhow I hope you all appreciate the break, if not, stay tuned, the plot most definitely thickens.

Still, it's my longest chapter yet, and I hope you find it all pleasing to read. Thanks again for reading!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, nor am I affiliated with OUAT. I wish, _more than life… more than anything._

_**Chapter 4: Of Fears and Fate**_

Emma was outside of Killian's door at the inn fairly early. She wanted to get a fresh start, leaving Henry sleeping until she had a plan of what this day would hold. Her parents were waiting at the loft for she and Killian to arrive. Regina was due to meet them there around the same time, hopefully less distraught than the night before.

Emma had thought everything was going well, well, better than it had been. Things were still rocky with Killian, which Emma wants to believe is for the best, to keep her heart(or what's left of it) intact. Regina was still hurt over the fact that her son didn't know who the hell she was, and her parents were dealing pretty well with the fact that their first grandchild is unaware of who they are to him, not to mention she can't even refer to them as her parents.

Still, with all that, she left the loft feeling much better than the night before. The gigantic lie was off her shoulders, another secret was out of the bag, her son believed in magic without half the dramatics it took herself to. Killian actually looked at her without grimacing, or glaring.

And Lily hugged her goodnight with love in her eyes.

Emma thought hard through the night about what she said just 24 hours prior. She didn't want to feel obligated to have a child, because she had the rare occurrence of meeting her before she were ever born. She wanted to feel safe. Pregnancies for Emma Swan weren't all rainbows and butterflies and people complimenting her glow. It was barely eating enough, throwing it all up into a toilet six feet from her hard bar-bearing cot. It was delivering while handcuffed to an infirmary bed and not seeing your child even open it's eyes. It was traumatic, excruciating even. It was lonely on her best nights and talking herself off the ledge on her worst.

Still, knowing her son now, she'd say it was all worth it, but she couldn't imagine going through it again.

And why is it her obligation to? Why does she have to go through something so terrifying to appease others? Why aren't others more understanding of what she went through? Why isn't he? He could say it's because he didn't know any of that, but if he could guess she was orphaned, he should be able to guess the whole deal. He should be able to see past the things that she blames them on and realize it's much more. He should know her better, if they really are true love, he should know her better.

"Were you just going to stalk about outside my door calling me out telepathically?" His voice was sleepy, raspy, but enough to break her from her thoughts. For a second, she believed he was in her thoughts, talking to her in her thoughts and ready to talk her out of all the awful things she was thinking. She moved to meet his hooded eyes, surprise most likely evident in hers. "Your pacing footsteps could wake the dead."

"Yeah?" Emma frowned at the pirate. He stared at her as if he were reading her every thought right now. "Did I wake her up?" Emma motioned toward the bed, barely visible through the space between Killian and the door frame. A corner of his mouth lifted a bit, but he tried to mask it behind an eye roll.

"No, she sleeps deeper than the dead, thankfully." He turned back to peek at her, Emma took the opportunity to slide in and get a glimpse of Lily for herself. "Swan," he whispered. "Don't you dare wake her."

Emma turned around, pressing a finger to her lips with a mischievous grin. "Just a peek." She promised softly. He begrudgingly allowed it, gently closing the door behind them as Emma turned back around and tiptoed over to the bed where a sleeping Lily laid.

Emma fell back into one of the memories that were never hers. A memory of walking in on a sleeping Henry, feeling the need to kiss him all over his face and squeeze the life out of his sleeping form. The urge to provide and protect this life she's created.

The urge returned, only stronger because it was her own urge, not one Regina loaned her for the sake of a fresh start. Lily was lying there, not in a memory, but in the present, and Emma needed to move to her, touch her and know she's real. Touch her and know she's hers, her baby girl with more peace in her sleeping state than all seven continents combined.

Before Emma realized, she had sat beside Lily, her hand mindlessly stroking the thick, dark waves away from the sweetest little face. Lily's cheeks were a bit clammy, but it's a sensation Emma would gladly endure. Her full, clammy cheeks and perfect pouted lips, the fluttering underneath her eyelids, the deep breaths leaving her tiny button nose.

This child was no obligation, she was a damn blessing.

"Slightly makes you wish to reconsider, right?" Killian's voice seemed so far away, but his presence so close. She turned to find him on the other side of the bed, reattaching his brace. Emma hadn't really viewed him in the doorway. Between the thoughts he interrupted and the budding ones of what her sleeping daughter looked like, she ignored his appearance completely.

Until now

Now he was rapidly drawing almost all her attentions. He stood at the end table, his eyes focused on their daughter. So she took this time to focus on his entirety. His hair was flawlessly disheveled(if that's even possible). He was still adjusting the straps on his brace, causing his muscles to ripple across his chest and down his arms. All of which were covered by a very fitted, very modern looking v-neck. The dark blue cotton of his shirt was only doing pure magic to the color of his eyes(the adoration at which he was gazing upon Lily must have had a small affect on them as well). Her eyes however, were only lowering to find him in baggy, dark gray sweats that looked a bit familiar and bit too low for Emma to stand. Her cheeks flushed at the indecent thought that crossed her mind for a moment.

She forced herself back to the present and back to his question. Although, there really was no question.

"No, we are most definitely having her." Emma confessed a bit too eagerly, and perhaps even a bit aggressive. She'll pretend it's not because of the way he looks fresh out of bed, and solely based on the way her daughter looks asleep still in bed.

"Love, I hope you'll refrain from this fickle tide-turning nature and promise this is your final decision." Emma sighed as Killian sat on the opposite side of the bed. "I just don't believe I could… I love her so much Emma." The hurt in his voice did a terrible thing to her insides.

"I know." Emma brushed her knuckles gently across Lily's cheek before leaning over and pressing a soft and fleeting peck to her forehead. "I do too." She admitted, despite her fears and feelings of inadequacy. She felt a stinging in the corners of her eyes and pulled up quickly, forgetting that this child might wake at any moment or sudden movement.

"MMMM" Sure enough the grumpy groan coming from Lily's throat signaled Emma's mistake. "Mama, five more minutes, I promise." She whined as she rolled to her side, facing Emma. Her eyes fluttered open, recognizing this wasn't her bed, or her home. "Oh." Lily huffed. "Hey."

"Hey." Emma whispered back, unable to fight the ever-prominent urge to brush the hair out of her face once more. "Good morning."

"Morning." She replied sleepily. "I thought you were going to go without me, am I to get dressed now?" She asked. Killian moved from the bed and to the armoire in the corner.

"It's up to you, Emma." Killian sighed. Apparently he wanted her to sleep longer. She guessed after Lily put on her magic show, she perhaps got to bed late after all.

"Why don't I wake up Henry, and the two of you can get breakfast downstairs while we're at Mary Margaret's?" Emma suggested with a cheerful voice. "You two could get to know each other a bit better, make things easier?" Lily broke out into a gorgeous smile, even in her half-sleep state.

"Okay" she beamed, her eyes brightening every second.

"Yeah?" Emma enthused. "Do you like that idea?" Lily bit her bottom lip, nodding eagerly. "Good, give me ten minutes, and we'll come back and walk you down. Okay?"

"Okay" Lily pulled herself up and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Emma's neck and burying her face in Emma's hair. "Thank you." she whispered

Emma felt another onslaught of feelings, forcing her to clench her eyes shut before tears formed yet again. She wrapped her arms tightly around Lily, squeezing her as close as possible. She was forgiving. Just like Killian. Nothing like Emma. She was sweet, and loving, and she was way too damn forgiving.

The worst part, Emma hadn't actually apologized.

"Lily, Baby, look at me." Emma directed, pulling away gently. Lily's eyes dimmed in time with Emma's voice. She could see the fear of rejection creeping back in and she hated herself for ever putting it there.

"I know, I can't be his sister, I know." Lily quickly explained.

"It's not about that. I wanted to apologize." Emma scrunched her nose to keep the itchy tingle that comes with crying at bay. "Lily, I am so sorry I made you lie to your dad. I'm so sorry I hurt you. I don't ever want to hurt you again. Do you understand me?" Lily nodded slowly, her eyes darting from Emma's to the man in the corner and back to Emma's.

"Did… did you say sorry to Daddy?"

"Yes. Many times, but I understand if neither of you forgive me." Emma explained.

"Dad always forgives you, Mom." Lily rolled her eyes. "That's what true…" Lily met her father's eyes again and sealed her lips with a throat clear. "I forgive you, and I love you too."

"I..didn't…" Emma tilted her head to the side in confusion before turning behind her to see Killian smiling inwardly as he searched the wardrobe. Emma turned back around to her daughter, still staring at her with her big bright eyes and innocent features. "Whatever" Emma let out a small chuckle. "From here on out, we're going to be good, Kid. You and I, I'm gonna treat you much better."

"And I won't be uhm, what did you call me? Sassy and Angsty?" Lily giggled, falling back into Emma's embrace. "or dramatic," she sighed contently.

"Oh good." Emma laughed before doing exactly what she longed to do as soon as she stepped foot in this room, peppering an obscene amount of kisses across Lily's face while squeezing the life out of her. Lily let out a squeal before falling into a fit of giggles.

Emma was positive in that very moment that willing this little girl out of existence would be the most devastating thing to ever happen to an orphaned ex-con with abandonment issues.

XXXXXXX

They left the kids at the diner with Ruby keeping a stealthy watchful eye. Henry seemed almost as excited as Lily was to spend the morning with her. Apparently, having magic makes her cooler than his xbox. Emma wondered how cool she would be if he found out that she had a bit of magic her own.

Still, Lily was happy to be renewed. She felt yesterday started off all wrong and was fairly convinced that thanks to her 'smart and beautiful' mother(Her words, not Emma's) she would get a second chance at a third first impression with her brother. The only downside was Emma knew that if magic made Lily more approachable in Henry's eyes, finding out that Lily was his time-traveling baby sister would make her the world's most interesting specimen. Anyhow, they left them together to find their own similarities and differences. To bond and develop something special.

Killian and Emma entered the loft about twenty minutes late to find the disappointed faces of Emma's parents and Regina. Emma sighed as Killian moved through the loft to the kitchen, finding the bacon Mary Margaret had made for them when she decided upon cooking breakfast for deliberation.

"Mmm" He smiled appreciatively at his future mother-in-law. "My compliments m'lady." Killian grinned handsomely. Emma hid her smirk behind the confusion of shopping bags cluttering the bar counter.

"What's all this?" Emma questioned to anyone willing to step in and answer as she snooped inside the bags.

"This…" Regina snatched the bags out of Emma's face, moving them to a nearby table so she could go through them. "Is suitable clothing for a princess. I don't have the faintest idea why your beautiful daughter insists on grotesque leather jackets, but I've boughten her quite a few dresses to wear."

Apparently Regina heard Emma's thoughts on adopting Lily too, because now she was telling her how to parent. Emma liked Lily's leather jackets and skinny jeans. She loved her combat boots and messy waves. She was adorable, and that's what she wanted.

"Ah." Emma grinned tight and fake. "How considerate of you, I'm sure she'll love them."

"I'm sure she will." Regina snarked "They are beautiful and worthy of a child so strong, bright and powerful." Oh yes, Regina definitely thought she adopted Lily. She only ever boasted about herself this much.

Mary Margaret moved on from force-feeding Killian strip after strip of bacon to the table Regina stood, pulling out garment by garment.

"Oh, Regina, these are gorgeous." Mary Margaret cooed as she caressed her belly. "Lily is going to look absolutely stunning in every one." She paused on the silver one. It was metallic and shimmered even in the poor lighting the loft offered. There was a beautiful black tulle bow at the waist and it was covered in black printed feathers.

"Swan feathers, perhaps?" Killian noted as he stood over Emma's shoulder, munching on yet another strip of bacon and smiling. "She'll look wonderful. Thank you Your Majesty." Killian bowed his head knightly before moving back into the kitchen.

"You're welcome Captain." Regina smiled proudly, as if she cured cancer by buying a few damn dresses.

"Alright, but we have business to attend to." Emma stomped over to her father, hoping he'd agree.

"Still, those are very worthy of our princess." David agreed with a smug grin to his daughter.

"Our?" Emma rolled her eyes. She heard once that it takes a village to raise a child, she wasn't aware it took one to dress one. "Alright, just ignore the fact that Killian and I parent her and perhaps she wears leather jackets because we both wear leather jackets." She ignored the smile gracing Killian's face after admitting aloud that she and Killian have a child together.

"She doesn't have to dress like you to be your daughter" Regina groaned. "Plus, I'm her Aunt Gina and I get to gift her whenever I'd like, so just stop your whining and enjoy the smile these put on her face."

"Right. Anyhow, flying monkeys?" Emma attempted once more. Finally catching the attention of everyone in the loft, the gang circled close around the bar to begin their planning session.

"Right. So now that we know who we're dealing with, how do we find this wicked witch?" David seemed much less enthused than he was a second ago discussing princess dresses.

"Might I suggest we start by asking if anyone's seen a woman with _green skin_ walking around?" Her smug little pirate. She glanced at him under thick lashes, musing silently over the fact that he was in such a rush getting their daughter ready, he hadn't at all tended to his hair. His voice was still raspy, and he seemed a little annoyed. She made a mental promise to not wake him up as early tomorrow.

"We're cursed in Storybrooke, she'll look like any one of us." Regina explained, kinder than she would have to anyone else in the room. Maybe because he wasn't brought over in the first curse, but she didn't have the same bite Emma was use to during deliberations.

"So we'll start somewhere we know she's been." Emma suggested. "Regina's office."

"I went over it with a fine tooth comb, she left no trace." Regina rejected, still softer than Emma was use to.

"You were combing for magic, maybe there's physical evidence that you missed." Emma continued.

"Good idea, we'll track her." David backed up.

"If you want to waste your time playing Nancy Drew, be my guest but we can't let Henry and Lily wander around alone with that witch and her flying monkeys out there." The bite was easing up on her, Regina's calm exterior dwindling. Now Emma could see what had her so gentle.

"No, especially since one of those flying monkeys could turn out to be Henry's father." Killian supplied, unwarrantedly. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Still no sign of Neal?" Mary Margaret whispered like the topic was fragile, and judging by the way Killian grimaced, it very well may be.

"No." Emma answered quickly, not wanting to dwell on the fragile topic.

"Someone needs to protect Lily and Henry. He doesn't even know what's going on, and your poor daughter is too afraid of you to tell him." Regina was getting much less gentle each time she opened her mouth. That Lily thing especially was a low blow.

"I'm guessing you're volunteering." Emma tiptoed, afraid of anymore hurtful backlash.

"You find anything, call me." Regina stated before moving to the table to grab her shopping bags. Emma had to rush to stall her.

"We should walk you." Emma suggested. "It's on the way to your office, I can run Lily upstairs and change her to one of those pretty dresses you got her."

"Why?" Regina questioned with more irritation than the last time she spoke. "Am I incapable of changing her myself?"

"No." Emma reassured. "I just don't want her to magic herself into them like she's been doing. She magic'd her and Killian's pajamas last night."

"She can use her magic whenever she wants, Emma, she's a very talented child." Regina all but lectured her.

"I don't want any wicked witches lurking around to figure out she's special." Emma argued, as calmly as she could but the parenting lessons were getting old fast.

"I'm sure her father trusts her to be responsible with her magic, you should too." Regina replied with more and more ridicule.

"Don't bring Killian into this, I'm her mother, and I don't want to put her at risk because you think she's some trophy child because she has magic." Emma replied with more and more strength. Standing up to Regina wasn't her strong point, it took a lot to push her past pleasantries and into the heavy weight stuff. Something she would argue over however was the well-being of her child.

"And he's not her father? I thought we revealed that secret a few days ago?"

"That's enough" Killian moved from around the counter, guiding Emma toward the door. "We'll accompany you so Emma herself can explain to them both that you'll be taking them out Today. Henry has gained a strong sense of distrust toward strangers since living in that hell-like city. This way he won't show any resistance in going with you."

"Killian" Emma uttered lowly. "She's—"

"Shh." Killian hushed her. "Time's wasting, there's something wicked in yourtown, let's say we go and find it." He turned back to nod at David, motioning for them to join them.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Lily and Henry had finished eating just a little bit ago. They were still hanging out downstairs, finding special ways to amuse themselves. The diner was filled every other minute with Henry's chuckle and Lily's giggles.

"What's this supposed to be?" Lily held up her drawing of a boat and a black flag with a skull and crossbones on it. Henry scrunched his nose to display an exaggerated thinking face.

"A hippopotamus." He guessed, dramatically displaying his certainty. "Must be a hippopotamus" he declared.

"Noooo" Lily laughed from the depths of her tiny gut. "You know it's not a hippo."

"I do know that, but how often do you get to say hippopotamus?" He grinned playfully. How refreshing yet familiar it was to have her Henry back. The one who works to make her smile and laugh. The one who knows what to do and say to bring the best response. Her brother, her hero.

"If I'm you, three times in one minute." Lily responded with a bright grin of her own. "It's the Jolly"

"The Jolly?" Killian questioned as he, Emma, David and Regina rolled through toward the booth they shared in the back.

"DAD!" Lily practically floated from her bench into the aisle as she rushed toward him. He caught her one armed and flung her over his shoulder fireman style.

"You rascal!" He jested. "Come, back to the booth you go."

"No! I want to say hi to everyone, not just you." Lily wrestled carefully against his hold.

"Not just me? I thought I was special." he faked offense as he set her back down in the booth she fled from.

"Very special" Lily complimented as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "But so are Emma, Uncle David and my Aunt Gina."

"Ahh, but I'm the most special, aye?" Killian asked with a charming wink.

"Aye." Lily whispered with a returning wink. After appearing satisfied, he allowed her to climb past him and out of the booth to hug Emma first, as affectionately as she could muster. Emma leaned forward, running her fingers lovingly through Lily's hair.

"Did you both eat well?"

"Mmhmm." Lily mumbled into Emma's midsection. "I missed you."

"Yeah?" Emma questioned, Lily had to pull herself back to be sure she was smiling, which she was, as beautifully as she ever has. Lily lifted to her tiptoes, stretching to lend her a chance for a kiss. Emma pulled her up just enough to kiss her forehead. "I missed you too." She said it like a promise, a promise that she will be her mother and she does love her and she really is sorry.

Lily doesn't deem herself gullible, but she's definitely one to accept a promise from a woman as sincere and special as her mother.

"Hey Princess." David interrupted, "Can I get a little love?"

"Of course." Lily smiled, but kept her eyes one Emma's for a few seconds longer, trying to read that she could fully trust this woman to be her mother, the mother she remembers and not the monster she's been shown. Her eyes were only goodness and light, and so Lily allowed herself to look away with the security that she would indeed be the person she needs.

She moved quickly from then to David, allowing him to pick her up and squeeze her dearly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her cheek to his and sighing contently. Something about the love surrounding her excited the love within her. Lily could feel her magic pulsing and vibrating through her veins.

"Lillian, I got you a few things, would you like to see?" Regina offered sweetly as David set her down. Lily nodded enthusiastically. Regina moved to the booth Emma and Killian sat at now with Henry. She set the bags on the table as Lily moved to her side. David rested his hands on Lily's shoulder, causing her to look up and see his proud smile. "Here's some beautiful dresses so you can retire that leather." Regina spoke so proudly, but Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"These are beautiful." Lily complimented as Regina pulled each one out to show her. "So very beautiful, and I thank you with my whole heart" Lily reached out, grabbing Regina's free hand, the other occupied with the dresses "But I like my leather jackets too." She confessed.

"Lily, you are a enchanting young princess, not a pirate." Regina softly scolded as she held up one dress, fitting it to Lily's neck. "Oh yes, I got the sizes perfect."

"I'm both." Lily corrected, pulling the dress from Regina's hand and demanding she pay attention. "Both princess and pirate, and I believe I should be able to wear both."

"If I see you wear one leather jacket with all these pretty dresses, I will flip my lid."

"Oh, Gina, listen to me," Lily pouted. "I want to wear them."

"You're too young to wear whatever you want." Regina argued, pulling the dress from Lily's hands and holding it back up to her. She set the other dresses down to us her free hand, the one that was up until now intertwined with Lily's. She pulled Lily's loose waves back into her grip, examining what she'd look like with a 'clean ponytail' and a princess dress. Lily has never met Cora, but she can only assume there was a possession taking place in this moment. All royal talk and no regard for what a child like Lily wanted most.

"Ugh, you're not listening." Lily pushed Regina's hand away.

"Well, you're coming with me Today, so you can dress in this for me, just for Today." Regina gently ordered. "Then wear whatever hideousness you wish tomorrow."

Lily had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, reminding herself of her promise not to sass.

"Alright. Thank you again for thinking of me." Lily curtsied, preparing to wave her hand across her chest and change into the dress magically.

"Stop right there." Emma stood from the booth where she had been having a quiet conversation with Henry and Killian, appearing to not pay attention to the exchange between Lily and Regina. "Regina, this is what I told you about, you were just going to let it happen."

"Let what happen?" Henry questioned from the booth with pure curiosity.

"Lily shouldn't be using her magic so openly." Emma explained in full on mom-mode. Usually, it would exasperate Lily to hear this lecture over and over again, but with Emma just now acting motherly, Lily would embrace it.

"Isn't that her father's call?" Regina raised an eyebrow at Emma. Lily looked between the two women before viewing her father.

"Regina?" Emma gasped, angrily.

"Well, isn't it?" Regina shrugged as if she weren't being completely out of line. Lily felt the urge to shrink to half her size and scurry away before they looked at her the way they were glaring at each other.

"Regina." Killian sighed. "Please."

"Is Regina your sister?" Henry asked, releasing the tension in the room. "I mean, you sorta look alike, with the dark hair really, but that's it."

"No, I'm on Lily's mother's side. We're… half sisters." Regina smiled sweetly at Henry. The quickness at which this lady could turn would never cease to surprise Lily.

"Oh… you too David?"

"I'm married to her aunt on her mother's side as well." David explained.

"Where is your mother again?" Henry turned to Lily with a kinder face than he had the last three times he asked, and Lily changed subjects. She bit her lip, looking at the ground for answers.

"She… she left us." Lily replied hesitantly. "We spent a year sailing along the eastern seaboard to recover."

All at once the atmosphere of the diner changed, the bickering between Regina and Emma quickly forgotten. She heard a few dark exhales before she felt her father's arms around her. Lifting her into his arms, he began to explain better.

"It's not something we revisit too often, Lad. It's a misfortunate turn of events, but we've rebuilt. Lily has two aunts and one uncle who love her dearly and provide for her anything I can't." He sighed deeply, his large, ring-clad hand swept down his face, tugging down his jaw and chin. Lily knows how much he hates to lie. Especially to Henry "Trying to avoid it all, I took her from that, but we're back, to celebrate the upcoming birth of Lily's cousin and get Lily back to her life. Which is why we are staying at the inn, not a house, I'm still hunting for one after selling our boat."

Lily was impressed he remembered their conversation before bed last night about all the unanswered questions Henry asked.

"I'm really sorry I asked." Henry frowned. "My dad left us too." Henry supplied as if we all didn't know what happened with Neal.

"Henry," Emma sighed, moving toward him to rest her hand on his shoulder. "He left me, not us. You know that."

"I know. I just want Lily to know I understand, and I'm here if she needs someone to relate to." Lily smiled brightly at Henry.

"Thanks." She whispered. "Well, this is a lot heavier than I wanted to deal with right after breakfast. I'll just run upstairs and get dressed and the three of us can go. You're going to love hanging out with Gina, seeing as you're not a princess she's trying to control."

"Lily!" Regina scowled. "One dress will not kill you!"

Lily wiggled to be set down when Killian lifted her higher, pulling her closer to him and pressing a long and comforting kiss to her temple. "I'm so sorry." he whispered for just her to hear. "This is not right."

Lily leaned back, running her hand along his scruffy jaw as she let the corners of her mouth drift higher. She had to bite her lip to keep from grinning to widely. "This, with you, is entirely right." Finally his lips took on a curve of their own, his eyes lightening, the brilliant blue reclaiming them.

"Perfect in every way." he mumbled, pressing another kiss to her forehead before setting her down.

With that, Lily ran off upstairs with the dress Regina chose for her, a brilliant silver one with beautiful feathers reminding her of a swan's. David, Killian and Emma bid Henry a goodbye before moving out of the diner.

Things weren't ideal, but she had her father on her side, and her mother not far behind. She had people hoping her happiness, her brother included. She may not be home in her own time, but she finally started to feel close to it in this one. Maybe she'd survive this after all, maybe there'd be a different price to pay, one much less steep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With David going back to the loft to meet the midwife, Emma and Killian were going to be alone for much longer than they have been since that New York night. Not that she'd ever use Lily to smooth things over with a pirate, but she was hoping that it helped him better forgive her in the process. If he could just stop closing himself off to her, if he could just reveal himself again, maybe she'd feel indebted enough to reveal a bit of herself to him right back.

"You know something Swan?" He began after a long silence set upon them at least twenty minutes ago. "Whenever you're around I always find myself trekking through some manner of woods, or forest courting danger." His tone was not a tone of a man who would rather be courting her. He took this 'not win my heart' business seriously. She can't remember the last time he said something that rendered her speechless.

They were overdue.

"Here I thought you weren't afraid of anything, always looking for the next adventure." Emma always there to supply the sass.

"Oh, is that what this is?" And he couldn't sound any less amused. They use to banter something a bit funnier. Especially two days ago, when she was still New York Emma and he was the man who thought of her hard enough every day to find his way to her.

"Isn't it?" Emma combatted, "What the hell were you doing for the last year alone on that ship? I'm guessing it was one swashbuckling tale after another. Until you decided to come back and save me."

"Exactly." _Lie. _And it was different now, to hear him lie, because no lie he could tell would ever amount to the one she did. Still, she turned and advanced on him, thinking she could use a bail bonds tactic to get the truth from him.

"You're lying." Her tone dry as she could muster.

"Excuse me?" And she knew it was more than just any lie, his blue eyes dimmed in time with the clench of his jaw.

The conversation the night of their arrival rang through her ears. The little nugget she buried away for safe keeping, the observation she made, the way he sat uneasy, discussing events of a year he was a part of, but not present for.

"What happened back there, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. That's my tale and I'm sticking to it." _Lie. _

Only it feels different when he lies this time, the small sly grin forming in the corners of his cold, pinking lips, the way he looks at her, but doesn't really look at her like he has so many times before. He's guarded and so damn smug about it. Like it's payback, because she lied to him to his face just two nights ago, and he chose to believe it for a minute and she refuses to believe it for a second.

"Well, I don't believe you." She was not letting up. Not now, not when this could level the playing field and she'd stop feeling like _she_ was the damn Wicked Witch of the West.

"Well, you can just say thank you and leave it at that." He wasn't letting in. He wasn't letting her in anymore.

"For my memories? I already did." She knows parts of her are crumbling at the idea of him forgetting the night he spent with New York Emma, who was happy to be near him and appreciated everything he was for her that day. The night she believed they were friends.

But friends don't lie to each other.

"Well, then for saving you from a loveless marriage." Of all the things to be bitter over, she was almost convinced he was more bitter about this, about Walsh, and a proposal and a year not thinking about him once the way he thought about her. She could explain how she didn't remember him, but then she'd be admitting that if she had, he would have stained her thoughts the same way.

"Is that what you think you were doing?" The crumbling she felt were her damn walls. The vulnerability was seeping through the seams.

"Well, he was a flying monkey." He mocked her, yet his tone wasn't nearly as bashful as it should have been, much more spiteful, critical, cruel even.

"I didn't know that." She growled because the cocky, critical bastard was getting the best of her, in the worst way he could have.

"Were you considering it, his proposal?" his jaw clenched and she caught a sight of his vulnerability surface too.

"Does it matter?" The words were out before she thought them through. This was her future husband if she allowed it and she's asking him if it matters that she could have married someone else.

Of course it mattered, but the test was to see whether he'd express that or not. Whether she was allowed inside anymore.

"Humor me" The way his tongue slid across the sharpest part of his teeth could have been a metaphor, preparing himself for the pain.

"Yes, okay?" She answered angrier than she should have been, providing the pain he sought after by asking such a loaded question. Although, continuing, she realized it would hurt them both to hear it said aloud. "I was in love, so of course I was considering it. As usual he wasn't who he said he was and I got my heart broken. Is that enough humor for you?"

Her chest was heaving under the three layers of clothing she had on. She tried her best to harden her exterior, not let him see. If he wasn't showing any cards, she wasn't going to expose her whole deck. That was enough. This anger, this proof that maybe she's always destined to get hurt was more than enough.

Still he locked his gaze tighter with hers, the longest they've spent staring at each other. She's a fool to think either of them aren't open and vulnerable right now.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I'm glad to hear that." He expressed quietly, after a second to recover from the lash.

"You're glad to hear I got my heart broken?" _unbelievable, selfish and unfuckingbelievable _

And then he enters her space, talking low and gazing deep. "If it can be broken, it means it still works." The moment to follow is full of tension and longing. She's afraid she'll never want anything as much as she wants to kiss him and it's that intense need within her that clarifies that he never stopped trying.

"You…" she swallows thickly. "You said you'd stop."

"Stop what?" He only moves closer and a white light flashes in her mind, erasing every coherent thought until it's only him inches from her in a moment in time.

"Trying to win my heart." With that, the fragile nature of the moment shatters. He steps away as if he'd been burned by her, staring at her with fear.

"You said this morning…"

"I said we'd have Lily." Emma gritted through her teeth, tears forming slowly above lower lashes, perhaps she can blame the coldness outside instead of the one within her. "I never said I'd be with you."

"Apologies, I misunderstood." He slowly turned away from her, moving to continue on their path. She gave him ten feet, ten wide feet before following. Ten feet were enough to reconfigure her thoughts, and rebuild her walls. Ten feet ahead, and now she was ready to follow.

By the time they reached the tip of the hill, it was as if the conversation never happened. She could go on about her day pretending she didn't almost fall into his arms over pretty words and vibrant blue eyes that put ice in her lungs. She would pretend he didn't have that affect on her, pretend he hasn't always had that mind-altering affect on her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Lily walked along the brick barrier between the walkway and the lake. She tiptoed like she was on the beam at her Thursday night gymnastic lesson. She kept her ice cream cone in hand, one foot crossing delicately in front of the other as she stepped. She could barely make out the conversation being held between Henry and Regina a few feet away.

"So is the ice cream good?" The mayor asked humbly. Lily smirked to herself, the first moment the two had alone, and she hoped they viewed her as invisible as she was trying to make herself.

"Yeah. It reminds me of this ice cream place in Little Italy." Henry perked up. "But this is just as good." The mayor replied something inaudible to Lily as she finished her ice-cream, unseen by her family.

If she were being honest, she was happy to be invisible, happy to allow them time together without realizing that they're having time together. She could do that for Regina. It also helped that Regina was too preoccupied to comment on how princesses don't clunk across brick walls, but float along marble aisles. Somedays, Regina made being a princess so unappealing.

Lily was a pirate around her father. She was fearless, and lively. That's what Killian brought out of her, but when she was around Mary Margaret or Regina, she was a princess, who did gym and ballet. Who said 'please' and 'Thank you kindly' and wore gowns and dressed with her hair pulled back gracefully, adorned with ribbons and tiaras. They groomed her to be a royal. Still, Lily was finding that she could be both. She could be a princess among citizens, with proper speech and gracious tendencies. She could be a pirate with a powerful disposition and a smug grin. She could be adventurous and fun-loving. She could see herself sailing the seven seas and captaining a ship.

Both sides of her were great. She loved to be both a princess and a pirate, but the reality of it all is one day she'll be one thing, one great thing like her mother, a savior. She'll be the one fighting evil, saving the day, rescuing the town every other week, allowing her mother to just be a mother. That is the person she'll be forced to become.

She hardly counts it as a punishment, or a curse. She sees it as a destiny. Something not every person, not even every princess gets. Something that the universe, the gods themselves, decided for her, fated for her long, long before anyone knew such magic, such power could exist. Lily wasn't rare, she was irreplaceable. She was one of a kind and unlike four leaf-clovers, or gold-potted rainbows, she couldn't be found. She was created for something great.

So as Lily thought over her roles in this life, she smiled to herself about how proper she could be, how adventurous she wanted to be and how important she'll always be. Lily continued her tiptoed stride along the bricks before getting a rush of adventure in her bones.

Lily turned back once more to find Henry and Regina on a bench, still talking, and laughing. She could have sworn she heard "Killian" a few times, but she let it pass. She turned back ahead of her, lining her shoulders up perfectly before bringing her arms straight in front of her.

"Lillian Jones takes the beam" She whispered to herself. "She's setting up for it, the perfect back tuck" Lily bent her knees, bringing her arms swiftly down to her sides before swinging them back up and throwing herself backward, her legs tucking in before her feet stuck flat, one in front of the other, on the brick. She stood straight, raising her arms above her. "And she stuck the landing." She was just in the midst of mocking a whispering roar of some far off crowd in her mind when Regina's angry voice interrupts.

"Lillian Eva Jones!" Regina shouted. "Get over here now! Are you crazy? You could have bust your crown on the brick wall or fallen into that icy pond."

"Pond? Aunt Gina don't discourage the lake like that." Lily gasped, coyly. She was such a smart ass when she wanted to be. To further her intention to redirect, she turned to the lake. "She didn't mean it, you're a glorious lake, not a wee pond at all." She heard Henry laughing and it gave her cause to grin back at Regina who was anything but amused.

"Did you crack your crown?" Regina snapped. "You must have to think it's socially acceptable for a princess to do flips off of a brick wall in a beautiful dress." Regina's diction was terrifying. "Furthermore, Missy, to laugh in your aunt's face afterward…" Regina's phone went off. "Ha, it's your mother!" Regina's eyes widened. "I mean, your mother." Regina turned to Henry. "I have to take this." Regina turned away from them, leaving Lily with a wide-eyed expression of her own and a lot of words she had to come up with.

"Everyone thinks my mom is your mom. I was listening in at the diner yesterday to Ruby and Granny talk." Lily's eyes softened, a smile creeping on her lips.

"Granny has dementia." Lily threw her hand down to dismiss it. "Anything she says could be confused with a past life. She calls my Uncle David 'Charming.'"

"Charming?" Henry laughed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Snow White, because Aunt Mary Margaret is so fair, and sweet, and her Prince Charming." Lily forced a posh chuckle to spill from her lips, she'd once witnessed a group of princesses in some movie present themselves the same way to cover up a lie, and it was pretty successful then.

"Lily, Henry, I'm sorry to cut our day together short." Regina apologized as she walked back over to them. She looked distraught and Lily knew better than to believe she just wasn't sold on the sound of Emma's voice.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked after jumping down from the bricks. All the humor left the air. "What's going on, is Mo..My dad and Emma okay?"

"Yes, David had a …" Regina quickly glanced at Henry, finding reason to redirect her conversation. "Lily, can I trust you to walk Henry back to the diner."

"The diner?" Henry sighed. "We were there all yesterday and this morning."

"I know but Emma really trusts Granny Lucas and Ruby." Regina frowned. "Please, they'll be sure to meet you later."

"I'd rather go help." Lily protested. "You know I can help."

"Lillian, don't be silly. Please walk your… friend Henry here back to the diner." Henry became tense before Lily crossed her arms, seething.

"This is unheard of." Lily sassed before turning and walking down the cobblestone toward the diner. "HENRY!" Lily shouted after reaching a fifteen foot mark.

The two were walking for a little over fifteen minutes when Henry decided to speak up. Lily's anger hadn't quite dissolved, but rather resolved into something else.

Adventure.

"Lily the diner was back that way. I've only been here two days and I know that." Henry pressed. Lily whipped around, giving him a look of defiance.

"Obviously we're not going to the diner. We're not babies, nor do we need to be babysat. The way I see it, Regina was too distraught to call ahead to Granny. She was in a rush. They probably won't be looking for us for at least an hour, and by then, we'd have already made it to our location, away from all the adult bull." Lily explained as if it were a top notch plan.

Henry scratched his head before following Lily down past Main Street and to the small winding road that outstretched toward the seaside playground. It would only be another ten minutes or so before they reached their destination. Still, with Lily's frustration dissipating, she found herself in a talkative mood yet again.

"So, you don't think it's weird that I have magic?" Lily questioned shyly. Henry's feet were finally in step with Lily's. He turned his head toward her, his eyes narrowing a bit before a smile broke across his face.

"No, I think it's freakin' awesome. I would love to have magic." Henry complimented before his grin disappeared slightly. He stalled her with his hand stretched out to halt her shoulder. "I know I overreacted when I first saw your hands. I am really sorry Lily if I made you feel bad about yourself. I treated you like crap all day yesterday."

"I get it." Lily nodded, her eyes avoiding contact with his. She continued walking, wanting to reach the destination before they were found out. "It is weird that I look like Emma, and we've never met before. It's even weirder that she hasn't talked to you about me or my dad." Lily frowned. "I'm sure it's because she's in love with him still."

"Still?"

"It was one kiss, a long time ago, but my dad remembers the way her eyes looked, skin felt, voice sounded. I know he loves her more than he's ever loved any woman." Lily felt her magic tingle at the idea. "Henry, I think we should help them get together."

"My mom and your dad?" Henry raised a skeptic's brow. "My mom was going to be engaged about a day ago, Lily. Plus, you have a mom."

"And you have a dad, but neither of them are here." Lily expressed impatiently. "There's a reason your mom and that guy aren't together now, and Emma will probably blame it on her duty to this town." Lily rolled her eyes, "But the truth is, the moment my dad came back into her life, all bets were off."

"It's not that I don't like your dad, I like him way more than Walsh." Henry began. "Honestly, I think part of the reason I was so angry yesterday is that I thought Killian did want my mom, and then I see you and I realize he has a whole family and he's not interested."

"Oh, he's interested." Lily reassured.

"So you really want to get them together?" Henry showed a strong sign of joining Lily's plan.

"We'll call it 'Operation Parent Trap." Lily winked mischievously before setting her sights on the playground before them. "We're here"

There stood the remains of Henry's old castle, accompanied by the new construction Regina put in last year. One of the final projects was what Lily now claims as 'her tower.' A spiral staircase, wrapping around a firemen's pole. It expanded at least twelve feet high, and at the tip top was a platform, complete with an extended spy scope facing the very ocean she loves so much.

She remembers countless 'Mommy and Me' days where Henry and Killian were out sailing, and she stayed behind to keep her mother company. They would find a few odd things to keep them occupied, but the day was never complete until they journeyed to the top of Lily's tower and spotted the exact location of their boys.

"What is this place?" Henry turned to her and for the first time since she got to the past, she found herself picking up on his aura alone. He was ready and willing to embark on an adventure she had in story.

"There was once a castle that stood here, housing the most marvelous dreams of a little boy." Lily began, taking Henry's hand and leading him to the sandbox surrounding the playground. "You see, the castle stood on shaky ground, the foundation threatened by an evil force, unappreciative of the boy's dreams."

"Lily… is this a true story?" Henry asked shyly. He wanted to believe in her, in fairytales and magic and the way he naturally gravitated toward her. She could sense it. Still, this Henry grew up with a mother who was constantly reminding him not to go about trusting just anyone.

In hindsight, if Lily grew with that Emma, perhaps she wouldn't have found herself smack-dab in the past.

"Very much so" Lily winked as they reached the tire swing. There was room for four, so Lily didn't need to convince Henry to climb aboard, he was already in motion. Lily pushed it forcefully and stood back allowing it to swing a few times before she leaped on, whipping her feet around to the inside.

"Where was I?" she fluttered her lashes down at her hands before remembering. "Right. The force threatened his dreams, so the boy knew of two choices; lose faith in such dreams, or make them a reality. You see he dreamed to find the lost princess."

"Lost princess?" Henry tilted his head in confusion, the same old puppy trick that makes Lily laugh from the inside out.

"Yes." Lily insisted. "The princess was separated from her parents at birth. It was the duty of this boy, this sole believer to bring her back to her kingdom." Lily took a moment to focus her magic on a stronger breeze, moving the swing more quickly. Henry's eyes twinkled at her with wonder. "He succeeded. With valor and grace the Princess returned and fulfilled her destiny."

"Are you the princess Lily?" Henry whispered, as if there were other's enjoying her tale that he didn't wish to spoil the ending for.

"No." Lily smiled pleasantly before continuing her story. "Although… destinies aren't always what they're said they ought to be. Sometimes, they're never ending, and reoccurring. Sometimes you think you've fulfilled it, but it builds back up against you, and you must go at it again. The Lost Princess was more than that, she was the savior. Whenever the world crashed down on their kingdom, it was up to her to pull it back to it's feet."

"All alone?" Henry's voice was drenched in eagerness. Lily beamed at him.

"Well, of course not. No hero enters their destiny alone. There is always a team to keep them sane, to watch their backs and to believe in them." Lily explained. "Among her team was of course, the brave believer who brought her home, the Queen and King from her lost kingdom and hope."

"Hope?" Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Hope, one of the strongest allies a hero can have. Hope that there will be an end to evil, and things will work the way they should. Somewhere down the road, she lost it. She sat here, in this sand, among the tides." Lily looked out onto the deep blue water, pausing to listen to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. "She was ready to run, to give up and go home… but home wasn't anywhere but right there, with the boy beside her. So she stayed, and hope grew inside of her. Here in the ruins of the lost castle by the sea, she found herself and a reason to believe there was nothing out there too evil to keep her from her destiny."

Lily turned to meet Henry's thoughtful expression, staring out into the water. The swing had slowed once more but she could tell his mind was racing almost as much as her own.

"Henry… do you believe in fate?" His hazel eyes found hers immediately. He began to shake his head, but something flashed in his eyes. His tongue slowly rolled in his open mouth. Lily knew that tell.

"I don't know." he whispered. "Fate is a weird concept. When the world began, a book was written with everyone who would ever live lined up like some family tree. Each one had their own paths to forge, but they were following lines already drawn in the sand for them. To believe in fate is to follow the signs. If you don't see the signs but follow them anyway, then yes, but if you know they are signs and run in the opposite direction, where you end up is going to tell you whether or not fate exists." Lily blinked at him incredulously. Her Henry believed in fate, he believed everything in this world happened for a reason, working the way it was meant to.

Lily was inclined to disagree.

Not everything works out the way it should. She _knows_ that. Her grandparents may believe the opposite. They tell her tales of hope and heroics and she loves them, she can recite them like they are her own tales. She knows them, and she knows it's all truly happened, but not everything is _their_ tale. Sometimes it's her own. Sometimes it's the world without magic working in non-magical ways. Sometimes she's an eight year-old girl on a mission to do something she shouldn't do. Still, she's on the mission and she refuses to fail, the cost of failing is more pricey than any use of magic, than anything really. This mission entails going against the fates, forgetting everything her grandparents taught her except the small sliver of hope that true love always finds each other and she'll exist.

So she stops believing everything is planned before time existed. She stops believing in fate, despite the idea of her father being born 300 years before her mother, yet meeting her while he's the same age. Despite the idea that the one child available for Regina to adopt is her mother's child, that the savior comes to Storybrooke the very night she was destined to. She believes in wrong and she believes in right, but believing in fate makes this mission seem like a large and lengthy waste of time.

No one wastes Lillian Jones' time.

"Hmm." Lily frowned. "I don't see any lines drawn around here."

XXXXXXXXXX

All Emma Swan wanted in this moment was to hug her kid, well kids, and fall asleep. As she and Killian made their way back to the diner, all Emma could contemplate was the idea that Gold was alive and thriving around the town. God only knew what the hell he was up to, why he was alive, and how dangerous the combination could be to the citizens of Storybrooke, namely Henry and Lillian.

Of course, seeing her father gasping for breath and clenching the ground after an attack from _himself_ may have lead to added discomfort with her children hanging about town. She is not afraid of things that go bump in the night, she is not. She is however absolutely terrorized by the idea of one of those things hurting someone she loves.

After parking in the back and hastily making their way around the front with a more uncomfortable silence then they'd ever had, Emma and Killian entered Granny's expecting a squeal from an eight year-old followed by a round of hugs.

What they found however, was a half-empty diner and the Lucas women discussing privately across the bar.

"Where are they?" Emma asked impatiently. Granny and Ruby met the saviors question with confused expressions and not a lot of answering.

"Who?" Ruby asked as if it weren't easy to make an educated guess.

"Lillian and Henry" Killian urged beside Emma. "They are meant to be with you." Ruby met eyes with her grandmother before producing the most apologetic face Emma's seen all trip(sans her own).

"We haven't seen them since this morning."

Emma felt her heart plummet six feet. Her grip on sanity was slipping rapidly with the idea that her kids were walking around with Wicked Witches and reincarnated Dark Ones. She turned toward the door almost instantly when the bell chimed, below her children appearing.

"Oh" Lily's eyes formed saucers, her jaw dropping. "What a miraculous turn of events that we are all here at the same time." She forced a scary salesman smile as she reached for her brother's hand. Henry only appeared half as fearful as Lily, moving close behind her.

"Where have you been?" Killian moved faster than Emma could, reaching Lily before she had a chance to change expressions.

"Daddy?" Lily gasped. "I'm sorry."

"Have you any idea how terrifying it is to believe you one place this entire time, arrive at said place only to find you never showed up?" He was breathless, the scare really doing a number on his normally charming demeanor.

"I said I was sorry." Lily insisted, releasing Henry's hand to reach for her father's. "Please forgive me." Killian resisted, keeping his hand balled into a fist at his side.

"Tell me where you were first." Killian breathed harshly through his nose, his lips pressed in a tight line, jaw clenching every other breath. Emma's not sure he was even this angry with her the other night. She stepped closer, her palm softly falling against his shoulder.

"My tower. The playground that overlooks the beach."

"That's at least a thirty minute walk from here." Emma finally spoke up, however Lily kept her eyes on her father.

"You told no one." He continued to reprimand. "You just took it upon yourself to steal Henry away, we had no idea where you were."

"I know Dad, I'm sorry." Lily repeated with more aggravation. "I told you, now will you please just forgive me so we can move on?"

"So neither of you have eaten?" Killian asked Henry, ignoring Lily's plead for chin was trembling with anxiety. Emma decided there was no way Killian was the authoritarian in their future family dynamic. Emma knew she would have received much less remorse and much more sauce. That kid was real cheeky when she wanted to be.

"Not since breakfast, unless you count the ice cream." Henry gulped after responding instantly, watching Killian like a hawk, trying to determine his next move like the rest of them.

"Emma, please drop Lillian off after you all finish dinner." His tone leaving no room for discussion. Emma's hand slid from his shoulder, down his arm before falling flat to her side. He turned swiftly, marching toward the back exit before Lily could say anything. Emma glanced down at her daughter, watching as she blinked rapidly, a tactic Emma was very familiar with.

It was positively evident then that Lily had very few encounters with her father, the Pirate Captain. The one who gave no quarter, not to stowaways, enemy ships, or misbehaving daughters, despite how infinitely heartbreaking her watery gaze could be.

"Come here." Emma whispered, reaching out for Lily's hand. "Why don't we grab a bite, and go to bed, wake up and start fresh." Lily kept her gaze low, shoulders hunched as she moved alongside Emma, a stunned expression stealing her usual charismatic appearance.

"Why was he so upset?" Henry asked as he guided Lily by the small of her back down the aisle. Lily sniffled gently as she shrugged.

"Because he loves her so much, and he was afraid." Emma answered, explaining some of her own actions in the midst of it. "Sometimes people react in anger when all they really are is frightened."


	7. Chapter 5: Sights Foreseen

A/N: Once again thanks for all the reviews, follows and favs. It really motivates me and I appreciate it all. I just wanted to clarify, I am a huge Emma Stan. I love Emma Swan, I do. So thank you all for bearing with me, I promise you, Emma won't be this way forever. She's learning and growing and I'm really happy to write a story that allows a reader to see how crippling fears can be.

**Disclaimer: Not only do I not own OUAT**, I also don't own some of the borrowed dialogue in this chapter. This one especially bends and twists and reconfigures the conversations to best match my storyline.

_**Chapter 5: Sights Foreseen**_

_S__he__'__s surrounded by snow as they uncover an__enormous__stone seal. S__he__'__s seen these symbols before in one of B__elle__'s books. It__'__s all elvish and magical and something she shouldn__'__t get into, but her body is moving before she can think on how to stop it. The hands that reach out in front of her are not her own but covered in leather gloves and the size of her father__'__s; still, the actions they fulfill are matching the determination in her mind._

_There__'__s a muffled voice of warning, she turns to find Belle pleading but she doesn__'__t understand why and she won__'__t allow it to stop her. She digs on, scraping her knees on stone. The gloves are discarded and a key is revealed, it matches a lock in the center and all thoughts are of opening it._

It's not the intense searing sensation on the flesh of her palm that startles her awake, but the hoarse screaming she can't silence coming from her own throat.

"Shhh, it was just a dream." His voice is groggy as he wraps her up tighter in his arms. "A terrible one but you're here now and I'm going to keep you safe and sound."

_Who is going to keep you safe?_

"Daddy, I'm sorry I woke you." She whispered in the darkness of their room at the inn. She would feel embarrassed if it wasn't for him being the very father who holds her when she wakes from nightmares in the future."Go back to sleep"

"You first Princess" he mumbled against her temple, a few light kisses there to follow.

She's sniffling and her face is slippery wet with tears before she knows it. This is not embarrassment. This is guilt and fear and an added mixture of stress and the underlying whisper in her spine as she curls into him that says 'he's too good for you'

"Want to tell me about it?" He asked with a stretch of his arms and legs. "I can see if I could make some cocoa downstairs, Ruby left Emma a key to the kitchen." She's been here three days and he already knows what to do to make everything right.

"No cocoa or conversations necessary, Dad. You said it already, it was just a dream and I'm just gonna fall asleep and have more." She could see the light in his eyes thanks to the moonlight's reflection. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, swiping away tears with ease and care. It's then when her palm finds his chest, and what's meant to be a sweet gesture ends in a shriek of pain.

"Darling?" He jumped up so quickly, turning on the lights to view her better. "Show me" but Lily shook her head against the idea, burying her hand within the fabric of her sleep shirt. She's on her knees, ready to flee the moment he moves closer because he can't know. _They _can't know.

"It's nothing"

"It's hurting you, let me help." He pleaded but when she doesn't budge, his begging turns to ordering. "I'm your father and I will help you, but you must show me for me to help."

"Don't worry about it." She shrugged as if she weren't terrified. Underneath her nonchalant facade, she was trembling over the idea of her dreams coming home with her.

"I'm not asking, Lillian." His captain voice comes out and she has no choice but to oblige. He's gentle, and the way he quickly covers every grimace and jaw clench, she knows he's being calm for her sake alone.

"Daddy, trust me, it's fine."

"I'm getting Emma." He expressed with finality. She just nods, losing all the energy to argue. "You'll sit tight for me, correct?"

"Yes, Dad" She confirmed with a sad smile, avoiding his eyes. His cool rings are a welcomed contrast to her flustered flesh as he cupped her cheek, bringing her forehead to his lips.

"Mere seconds." And he's out of the door, barefoot, in pajamas and brace-less. He braved his vulnerability for the sake of her and she can't understand why he wasn't blessed with a wiser daughter.

As a second, _or third _round of tears tumble from her eyes, she rises from the bed anxiously running her fingers through her hair. "Pull it together" but she doesn't, so she tugs tighter at the roots. "Come on Lily, focus" and she still can't because her mind is racing with fear and images of things that don't matter and won't help her. "focus" she whines, defeated as she rubs the tearing sensation out of her temples.

Then it hits her.

_The snow is a constant, spread out over hills and mountains in the distance. There is no stone this time, no Belle, still she is not alone. She can't contain the smile spreading across her face as she looks over to see her mother. She's glowing like the sun, all things Emma Swan, green eyes and a sly smirk but it all breaks away in an instant. Emma's eyes meet hers with concern when it happens. A sharp pain thrusts its way through ever cell in Lily's body, she's collapsing, cold and wet and seizing. _

_Before too long, after muffled words have been exchanged, Lily feels a ripping and tearing within her, her spine, her skin, her muscles all scream under excruciating force. She groans and gasps but the pain won't subside. Then all at once there is peace, and the heartbroken expression of her mother, but just beyond Emma's head is a light unlike any other, and it calls her home. _

"Lily, Lily, Baby wake up." Her voice is soft, but pleading. She shakes her lightly, wakes her after a moment, but as Lily comes to, she's convinced she's entered the afterlife. Emma's hair floats around them like a golden waterfall. She breathes in her signature scent, cinnamon, vanilla and that soft hint of cardamon(when she drinks chai tea instead of cocoa those nights she can't find sleep).

"Mama?" Lily breathed out painfully, her spine aching, her gut hallowing. "Mom!" Lily quickly rose from Emma's lap, crawling across the floor like a possessed demon. "You have to leave." she mumbled as she scurried to her feet, hiding her face against a wall, her back turned out to her mother.

"Oh, the hell I do." Emma grumbled, moving just as quickly behind her. "You tell me what just happened, I don't want the short hand, I want the truth."

"Swan, she's traumatized. Be gentle." Her father, _her hero_, moved near them, she could hear the pattering of bare feet against hardwood.

"There's nothing gentle about finding your daughter collapsed on the floor in the middle of the night. I don't have to be gentle either."

"You believe it's my fault?" Lily turned on her quickly, ready for a fight only to find a knowing smirk on Emma's lips.

"Thought that would get you to turn around." Emma crouched down in front of Lily, setting her hands on her daughter's waist. "Your dad said it was a nightmare, but we all know nightmares don't burn your hands and attack you after you've already woken up. What was it really?"

"It's late, I have a headache, we can talk in the morning." Lily stated plain and simple, as if every part of her wasn't dying to confess the terrible gift she's been given.

"Lillian, she's not asking." His captain voice made an encore appearance.

"No, I suppose no one ever does around here." Lily sniped at her father.

"Hmmph." He laughed. That jerk laughed as if something, anything about this was funny. Still, his smile makes her feel safe, so she spills before she knows what she's doing.

"Premonitions, they are new, and scary and I had no clue they could hurt me in the waking world, let alone leave me scarred." Lily frowned.

"May I see this scar?" Emma raised her brows hopefully as if smiling faces was now a tactic to get Lily to do what they wanted.

It was. Her hand was in Emma's instantly. She didn't even hesitate, despite the mental note she made the moment she realized she had it.

Emma's eyebrows furrowed instantly. Lily began squinting at the lines and shapes singed into her flesh. Their eyes met immediately after Emma finished tracing the lines with light fingertips.

"I'm gonna call Regina." Emma stood up hastily, moving toward the phone on the bedside table.

"Mom, please don't!" Lily shouted, chasing after the blonde. "Please Mama, please." Her voice broke into whines and whimpers as she reached Emma's waistband, tugging her back. "I can't just tell everyone, I can't. Don't."

"Stop." Emma sighed. "Lily you need help."

"I'll tell my mom in the future the moment I get back."

"I'm your mom in the future, you told me, I know, and now I'm going to get you help."

Emma ignored her pleas, removing her hands from her waist as she reached the table.

"Mommy, I'm begging you." Lily fell to her knees sobbing. "Just hold me and be my mom, not the savior trying to fix me." Emma's eyes met Lily's once more. Tears flowed freely, but Lily did not break contact until her mother certainly changed her mind.

"Fine." Emma groaned, flinging her head into her hands as she sunk onto the bed.

"Emma," Killian sighed as he moved to pick Lily up from the floor. She allowed him to wrap her up in his arms and walk them to the bed beside Emma. "It's quite alright to feel this way." He supplied for the savior. "And it's quite alright for you to feel the way you feel as well, Lilylove." His nose nudging hers affectionately. "You want to be brave enough to not worry us, but we love you so terribly, there's nothing you can say to not have us worried. My heart sank, seeing you on the floor just a moment ago. Emma's as well."

Emma lifted her head, quickly wiping tears before reaching for Lily's hand. She nodded, pulling in a tight, sad smile.

"I just want to keep you safe." Emma sniffled. "So, tomorrow morning, you're gonna talk to Regina, please?" Lily could only nod. She hated watching her mother cry, especially over something she's done. "Thank you." Emma breathed before leaning over Killian and placing a long kiss to Lily's brow.

As Emma pulled away, she stood to leave when Lily cried out to stop her. "Stay!" Emma turned with a shocked expression, she was in mid lift as her eyes darted between Lily's and Killian's. "Just until I fall back asleep. In the future" and Lily knew she was playing a selfish card. "In the future both of my parents stay with me after a nightmare. I feel safest between you both. Please Mom." Emma caved, sitting by down beside Killian, Lily still on his lap.

"If it's alright with you?" Emma whispered to her future husband.

"Of course." he replied, and the moment they shared that followed was as if Lily weren't present at all. He was all longing eyes, and she was nervous breaths.

After another silent moment shared between future lovers, Lily yawned dramatically to remind them that she actually was in the room, and would very much like to fall back asleep if she had a say. It wasn't too long before she found her cheek resting against her mother's shoulder, delicate fingers drawing circles on her back and her father's weight beside her in a dark and quiet room.

XXXXXXXX

The sensation of cool rings and warm knuckles against her cheek gave way to her awakening. She didn't wake with a start, like most nights, but with a soft sigh, and a quick reminder of where she was.

"I'm sorry, Love, it's almost dawn, I was worried about Henry." He confessed in hush tones, the endearment still evident. He cared, deeply about her, and Lily and Henry too.

Emma nodded, turning to peck Lily's damp cheek a few times before sliding her gently off her shoulder. Killian took a step back, allowing Emma to rise from the high bed of the Inn. It creaked a bit, but nothing too drastic to wake the sleeping princess.

"How long did you let me sleep?" She asked as she stretched, her shirt rising from her midriff, but the gentleman he was kept his eyes on hers. "It's almost dawn?" He nodded, the room still too dark to see clearly, but she believes she spotted darker circles than before.

"It's been a few hours. Three, perhaps, almost four." His raspy whisper doing a number on her resolve. if she were thinking straight, she would have realized that she just slept with him, but then again, he didn't do much sleeping, and she however did.

"Why'd you let me sleep that long?" Emma playfully smacked his arm as she moved around him to the other side of the bed. "I know you didn't sleep a wink."

"I was watching over Lily." he replied quickly. "And you… I may have taken a bit of joy in watching you sleep. You seemed peaceful, as if you weren't the savior, just Emma."

"Just Emma." she laughed. "that's a concept." He reached her near the door of his room. Her smile faltered when the idea of asking for Lily re-entered her mind. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something…" She moved her eyes from his, searching the room for something she may have left, but she only came in here with the pajamas on her body and fear in her mind.

"Anything." He smiled innocently like the world wasn't raging on around them. The room was so peaceful, she was almost inclined to believe it wasn't.

"Lily… do you mind if I take her tomorrow… or I guess tonight, since it's almost dawn." She laughed awkwardly. "I mean, it felt really good to have her snuggle next to me, Henry never does that and I want her to know I miss her and love her." His innocent smile was a distant memory when she met his eyes once more. He had devastation seeping through his pores.

"You… you think I'm inadequate, now that I requested your help with her nightmare?" His tone was so distraught she felt a strong urge to touch him, provide him with comfort and security.

"Oh God no." Emma answered with seriousness. "Killian, you are an amazing father. I don't even understand how you fell into the role so quickly, but you held it together better than I did."

"Why do you want to take her from me?" his voice only got smaller, more defeated.

"I don't want to 'take' anything. I thought maybe I could have her sleep in my room, that's all. If not, I understa—"

"She's your daughter Emma, it's your choice." He cut her off, hardening his exterior as quickly as possible.

"She's our daughter, Killian, it's our choice." She followed the drift of his eyes to the bed where their daughter slept. Just moments ago, she slept there too, peaceful apparently. Only awoken by the gentle caress of his hand, and where she normally would freak out about being an any other bed than her own, she felt naturally at home.

"You don't wish she were fathered by another? Perhaps Bae—"

"Don't even finish that thought." Emma ordered quietly, acting on impulse and reaching for him. Her hands slid up and down his arms, as she silently requested his attention. He turned, his eyes finding her almost immediately. "Believe me when I say that neither I or Lily would ever choose someone else to be her dad. You are perfect for her." The intensity in his eyes had Emma's body moving mindlessly. Her fingers fluttered down his arms without thought, and it wasn't until he flinched, moving away and hiding his left arm that she realized she touched his bare, handless wrist.

"Apologies, I was in such a rush to get you, I forgot to cover up." His blue eyes no longer lingering with her own, but staring insecurely at her feet.

"You don't have to cover anything up." She quickly corrected. "I don't understand, you sleep without it in front of Lily but not me?"

"Lily's assured me she's seen it plenty in the future. She is after all my daughter as we since discussed."

"Yeah and I'm your wife." The words were out so quickly, Emma hadn't caught on to what she had said until long after his eyes widened with recognition of their own.

"_You _aren't from the future, Swan. The wife I have in the future is not the woman standing before me now." He expressed grimly. "According to Lily, our future selves share love, passion and trust, where we now have nothing between us."

In hindsight, Emma should have felt pain, or rejection or even anger, but instead she felt the overwhelming sensation to prove him wrong(even though she wasn't sure herself that he wasn't right). Maybe there wasn't anything between them right then, but when her lips crashed against his the next moment, it was evident there would be from now on.

It wasn't a gentle kiss, it was overcharged with the fear-inducing reality that this was her future husband with which she shared love and passion. Her hands grasped at his jaw, pulling him down to her, as her chest bloomed up toward him. Seconds ticked by before his arm wrapped around her waist, his hand anchoring deep within the mess that was her golden mane. He pressed her waist closer to him causing her to hold in a soft moan, when reality crashed back in.

This wasn't the damn future.

She pulled away first, keeping her forehead pressed to his as their panting mingled. "There is now." she whispered between harsh breaths.

"Emma?" he sighed back.

"Shh." She swiped her thumb across his lip slowly, fighting back every urge to dive back in. "I have to go. I just… if I were, if I were going to be with anyone again, if it came between anyone and you… I have to go." Emma pulled away, avoiding his eyes as she reached for the door.

"Emma."

"Don't." So he didn't and she left.

XXXXXXXXX

After sneaking back into her own room(sighing with relief that Henry was still asleep), she decided against the waste it would have been to pretend like she'd get any more sleep. Not after nightmares, premonitions and stolen kisses that would mean entirely too much to at least one of them.

Emma found herself taking a much needed shower, allowing all of her worries to surface between soap suds and shampoo bubbles. And if she spent an extra hour just thinking, and all the hot water in the building disappeared, well then the town would just have to get over it. The savior needed to work through her personal issues to deal with all of theirs.

She managed to make it downstairs and out front awaiting the arrival of her daughter and Killian. She thought the fresh air would be healthier than her returning to the room she just fled from two hours prior. Still, it didn't heal the sporadic tingles coursing throughout her body with nervousness.

Then all at once, she felt small arms sack her from her side. She glanced to find a bright-eyed little girl without a trace of last night's negativity present. The elasticity of a child will never cease to surprise Emma. Especially her children, both were forever forgiving and persevering despite endless amounts of impossibleness falling upon them. She knew she could stand to learn a lot, learn to trust and forgive the way they do.

"Baby" Emma sighed contently, turning to wrap her arms fully around Lily's shoulders. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great, especially the few hours you slept with me." Lily rested her chin just beneath Emma's belly button as she beamed up at her. "Daddy says we can do it again tonight? Like a sleep over in your room, me you and Henry?"

She wanted to check Killian's expression, see if he was still sour about the idea but in order to do that, she'd have to face whatever else she may find after kissing him like that this morning. Instead she nodded enthusiastically at her daughter.

"If you want to?" Emma replied, brightly. "I'm sure Henry would be excited too."

"Yeah?" Lily shivered in excitement. "I can't wait!"

"Well, you'll have to." His voice broke in like cold water on a hot day, surprising, but she'd be lying if she didn't welcome what the sensation does to her skin. There was a little passion lying low in her gut from the kiss earlier and he find it within seconds. She chanced a glance in his direction to find him watching her intently. "We have quite a day ahead of us, Lilylove, and it's only just begun."

"Of course." Lily released Emma, stepping back to talk business. "I persuaded my dad to let me talk to Belle instead of Regina about the premonitions."

"Belle?"

"Yes, she's very knowledgable about magic, it will do you good to utilize her." Lily educated as if Emma were the child.

"Thanks for the advice." Emma rolled her eyes playfully. "Good thing we're headed to see her anyhow." With that the three took off, Emma doing her best to not only avoid viewing the pirate, but also the feeling his presence provided. Things were definitely different between them.

Upon reaching the pawn shop, Lily ran in like a lightening bolt. Before Emma even passed through the door frame, Lily was in the arms of the librarian.

"Belle, Belle, Belle!" Lily cheered and squealed, nuzzling her nose with the brunette's. "I missed you so much! We went to the library and you were here, and then I was with Regina yesterday, I can't wait for Henry to re-meet you! We should all have dinner!"

"Slow down, Kid." Emma interrupted. "You're giving her a headache with your run-on sentences."

"I'll have you know my grammar is top-notch thanks to my Belle."

"Your Belle?" Killian moved in from behind Emma, crossing the shop to relieve Belle of the little girl latching onto her for dear life. "Since when do princesses own people?" he jested but it was not well received with the tiny pirate in his hands.

"I'm Lily's godmother in the future." Belle's grin illuminated the dimly lit shop. "She hasn't told you?" Killian was speechless, in shock actually. He didn't move an inch as Lily climbed from his arms and back into Belle's.

"No, must have slipped my mind that it wasn't common knowledge in this time." Lily let out a small snicker as she lovingly caressed Belle's face with her small, delicate hands. "You're even more beautiful than you were three days ago." Lily whispered, for just them to hear, but it still managed to reach Emma and rip her heart out of her chest.

Emma wasn't the jealous type, especially with the affections of her children. Henry had another mother for god sake's and Lily's relationship with Regina was a close one. She welcomes anyone to come and love her children, since she went without such for her entire youth. Still, seeing Lily with Belle caused such negative feelings to surface. She could feel something within her sizzle at the sight of them, another region scorched at the words she whispered, and Belle's answering kiss to her daughter's temple cracked her willpower to resist walking over there and stealing Lily away.

"Godmother?" Emma tugged Lily into her arms from Belle's. "Are we close?" She pressed her own lingering kiss to Lily's temple, hoping to top anything Belle left.

"Not us." Belle answered as friendly as Emma's ever seen someone shut down a request for friendship. "The captain and I." And that was the first time Emma's seen a pirate choke on his own tongue. He was so flustered he walked away without a word, fumbling about in the knick knacks of the shop, rather than face the apparent future relationship between he and the love of his enemy.

"Oh." Emma nodded moving to sit down somewhere less awkward than two feet away from Belle. She kept Lily wrapped up in her arms, as she awaited the arrival of the rest of the group.

"Uhm," Killian began with a weaker tone than he appeared comfortable with, judging by the dramatic throat clear that followed. "Lily wished to speak with you about her premonitions, last night."

"Of course." Belle smiled cheerfully to her future 'buddy.' Perhaps Emma's jealousy stretched past just Lily. "I was wondering what brought you."

"That's not all that brought us." David spoke from the shop entrance, guiding his pregnant wife in. Lily wiggled out of Emma's lap to approach her grandmother, an interaction that registered within Emma's comfort levels. David continued on, sparing a smile to his daughter before reaching Belle at the counter. He tossed down a golden straw like a grenade, just waiting for recognition to shoot off.

"This is…" Belle twirled the straw in her fingers before finding a nearby seat. "So Rumple's alive?" And all the joy she had from holding Lily faded, just unbearable heartbreak in her voice. "How is that even possible?"

"We were hoping you might be able to tell us that." Emma replied causing Belle to turn and face her with an unbelievable shock in her eyes. "You know this shop and him better than anyone. If he's in Storybrooke, there has to be a clue about how he got back or how we can find him now that he is." Emma elaborated, feeling relieved when Belle's shock faded a bit into understanding.

"Yeah, uhm… I'll start looking right away."

"Keep your eyes out for him too, if he comes to town he'll—" David began but was cut off.

"Come to me. Yeah I know." She beamed hopefully. It soured Emma to not share her same quality. She wasn't hoping he'd find her, she didn't believe it was safe for him to show up, while they were so unaware of who he was and why he was alive. If Lily were going to stay with Belle, Emma needed to be sure they were both safe. She looked to Killian, who was still attempting to disappear through floorboards.

"Hook will stay with you." Emma added, confirming with a raised brow.

"You will stay with me?" Belle turned toward the pirate in question.

"I'm surprisingly good at research." He folded. Belle seemed apprehensive and Emma wasn't the only one to pick up on that. "I'll protect you if the witch comes. I know I… I'm sorry for what I did to you, twice, and I'd like to make it up to you."

"I know we're… close in the future but I don't know." Belle sighed.

"Well, I do." Lily chimed in. "The three of us will hunt for clues and then speak over unimportant premonitions and it will all work out."

"Premonitions?" Mary Margaret turned to Emma with a concerned look in her eyes. Emma sighed and nodded.

"Alright, we're off to find a wizard." Emma stood up straight from where she was leaning. "or the Wicked Witch of the West. Lily?" Lily was silently holding her grandmother's hand and staring at her feet when her head flew in Emma's direction. "I'm leaving, be good okay, and please, please please." Emma crouched in front of the child. "Do not use your magic in front of anyone you don't know. Promise me, not strangers, and not Gold if he shows."

"I promise."

"It's not that I don't love your magic." Emma explained as she straightened the zipper of Lily's black leather jacket. "It's that I love you, and don't want anyone to take you because you're special."

"I understand." Lily smiled sweetly, brushing her fingers through Emma's hair, so lovingly it erased earlier memories of her interactions with Belle. "I love you too." Still, there was something heavier behind Lily's eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"Mmmhmm." _Lie._

"What's wrong baby?"

"Nothing, I just miss you." With a smile that sincere, she didn't want to focus on the gut feeling there was much more.

"I'll see you soon." Emma promised, planting a kiss to Lily's brow before standing and turning back toward Killian and Belle awkwardly avoiding eye contact with each other. "And Belle?"

"Yes?"

"We're gonna find him." Another promise, another obligation, but Belle was important to Lily, so she'd do her best to help.

It wasn't until they were outside that Emma even acknowledged her parents, hugging them both briefly and allowing comfort to wash over her momentarily. However, as soon as they were out of their embraces, worry rushed back in, supplied by her mother's concerned expression.

"Premonitions?" Mary Margaret revisited, staring at Emma with an evident need for elaboration.

"She has premonitions, apparently. And they are damn scary. Killian thought it was just a nightmare, he came and got me after seeing the scar on her hand the nightmare left." Reliving the moments of last night were making it hard for her to even believe comfort was something she'd feel again for a while. "So, we run back to the room and she's lying on the floor. She collapsed when another one hit her in the middle of no where. She won't talk to either of us about what they were, but it doesn't matter because they are physically hurting her."

"Oh, Emma" Her mother gasped. Another hug took place, not nearly as comforting, but thoughtful nonetheless.

"Are you sure you want to leave her? If it were you, I would not be patrolling around town right now." David supplied with an added amount of guilt. Of course she didn't want to leave her, but she wasn't David. She was the savior and she was only in town to patrol around it and figure out what the hell was going on. She couldn't do that cooped up in a crowded pawn shop while watching her daughter fawn over some other woman.

"She doesn't need me, she has her dad and _Belle_, her apparent god mother." Perhaps the eye roll wasn't necessary, but _fuck_ it still burned in places she couldn't reach.

"Emma" Mary Margaret was getting less and less comforting by the minute and more condescending with each 'Emma.'

"We should get out into the forest."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lily tried her best to recall events in her storybook. She tried her hardest to remember the day Neal died. The storybook didn't feature him enough for her to know the specifics, and her parents didn't mention his death as much as his life, so she had no idea what to expect. Still, she had a gut feeling she was going to stumble into it soon, and in this moment, fear was an understatement.

"Lillian?" Belle called from the ladder in the bookshelf section of the shop. "Can you help you father hold these, he only has one hand and he's going to rip my covers?"

"Surely our friendship begins with you insulting my inadequacy." He grumbled as Lily moved beside him, taking the books from his hand and magically setting them on the table they'd been researching at. She knows what her mother said, but she could feel her emotions rattling about and her magic never worked well under hazy feelings. She needed to work it out to keep it fluid.

"No, it actually began when you cornered me in my library, then got a little rocky when you cornered me on your boat, but I think we got back on track when you shot me and made me forget everything." Belle replied snottily, not nearly as angry as Lily would have appreciated. Instead she was just rude and snippy. Lily could take Belle working through her anger, not making cheap shots at a since reformed man.

"Okay, this is extremely unnerving so if you can't get alo—" There was a beating against wood somewhere else in the shop. Lily's heart stalled at the sound. _Dear God don't let this be it._

Killian and Belle shared a look before the librarian climbed down and accompanied him on his search for the noise.

"Wait!" Lily shouted and her father advanced, motioning for her to not only be quiet, but to actually hide. Lillian Jones does not hide from a scary noise.

She hides from the truth.

They continue their route throughout the shop, Killian drawing his sword, walking in front of Belle to protect her.

Lily was rapidly wracking her mind for something that would confirm this was actually happening right now. She piled through every conversation she's ever participated in about her brother's dad, but she kept coming up blank. Of all the things she could have foreseen, the stupid premonitions didn't allow her this.

She thought perhaps she could quickly create one. She concentrated hard on what she needed to see, but it was too late. The sound of a body hitting the floor rang in her ears, followed by gasps and Belle's frightened tone 'Neal, Neal'

All her moments led up to this.

XXXXXXXX

"Henry?" Emma walked into their room at the inn. He was working quite diligently on homework he'd never turn in if she didn't get out of this cursed town. He turned to the sound of her voice, a curve taking place in the corners of his mouth.

"Mom! Did you leave in the middle of the night, I thought I woke up and you were gone?" He wasn't supposed to know, she didn't know how to explain that his sister has violent premonitions and she wanted to make sure she was okay. Still, the less lies the better, Killian taught her that.

"Lily… uhm, she had a really bad nightmare, Killian didn't know what to say… it was about her mom." Emma looked about. "Anyway, I am here now, and I got you breakfast because I am super mom." Unless Belle is in the running of course. She collapsed onto the chair, smiling at him. He still loved her more than the librarian. How could he not, she brought his favorite. "Cocoa, and a sesame bagel"

She watched as he stared into the bag, a grim expression staining his face. "That's a bagel?" He closed the bag, setting it down unappreciatively. Apparently Belle doesn't have to be around for her to fail at mothering.

"Sorry kid, we're not in Manhattan anymore." She offered before taking a sip of her cocoa, the only constant in this world. She moved to leave again, not sure why she even wasted her time sitting down.

"Are you going back out?" Henry sounded innocent enough, but something in his eyes told otherwise.

"I gotta, yeah" A tinge of guilt found it's way beneath her breastbone. "You remember Leroy right? He's going fishing with some buddies Today, you wanna go?"

"Yeah." He answered with a knowing smirk, matching the twinkle in his eyes. "I'll go, because I love fishing, not because I believe you."

"What?" Emma mumbled, not prepared with any extra lies and praying she won't have to make any up on three hours of sleep.

"You know you're not fooling me, right?" His grin slipped and so did hers. "Something's up."

"I'm working a case, you know how I get focused."

"No, it's more than that. It's this town. All these old friends you've never mentioned and people whispering around me all the time. It's Killian and Lily and how attached she is to you, and how much you love her back. And Magic. It's the things people say, the way they stare at us, like it's breaking their heart to see us interact. It's weird, and there's a lot that you're not telling me."

"It's a dirty business being a bails bond person, I don't want to soil your sweet hea—"

"You're not getting off that easy." Henry groaned. "If you can't tell me the truth then I wanna go home. Back to New York." Emma wanted to go back too, but she couldn't very well just leave the town to perish.

Her phone rang just before she thought of a response.

"Sorry." She frowned at her son before picking up. "Hey…what?…I'll be right there."

XXXXXXXXX

_Neal_

She had been looking for him since she got here, wondering when he'd show, if he'd show, if he was even alive. Now he's alive, laying in a hospital bed just beyond the doorway and Emma would rather not walk through this stupid doorway. Emma would rather turn around and do as Henry asked, taking him back to New York and forgetting that things like this happen, that people show up and fuck up her world so badly that she doesn't know how to function.

Then she heard Lily's voice. She had to get in there and explain things before Neal found out about her future with Killian and made things awkward, or… She couldn't grasp why it mattered if he knew, just the underlying anxiety surrounding the idea of him knowing.

"Emma!" Neal called out but she couldn't weave through the crowd of people soon enough to catch a glimpse of him. Then all at once, the room divided. Lily moved to sit beside Killian on Neal's left, and David stepped back with Belle on his right. She had a clear view of him, and the way everything within her plummeted to her gut reverberated through her legs. She teetered over to him, standing beside her father and Belle.

"Neal, What happened?"

"I…I don't know, one minute I'm watching the yellow bug cross town line and the next thing I know I'm running around the forest in Storybrooke where apparently…" He searched Killian's face, before moving back to meet Emma's. "There's a lot going on."

_Shit. _

_Does he know? Did he just confirm to knowing? Does he know?_

"Are you going to tell him, or shall I?" Killian seemed pissed, so perhaps he didn't know yet. This can't just be told in the heat of jealousy like that kiss in Neverland. She wanted to do it this time. She met Killian's eyes with a nod.

"Lily is—"

"Rumplestilskin is back." Killian interrupted with haste, glaring at Emma. He was more than just pissed. And she was so consumed by the thought of Neal knowing about Lily, she forgot that his father was alive.

"Back?" Neal became overwhelmed quickly. "Back? I just watched him die what do you mean Back?"

"Take it easy." Emma calmed, moving her shaking hands to hover over him, gesturing he remain still. And then she saw it.

Neal's hand was marked in the same way Lily's was. She reached quickly, pulling it closer to her sight.

"Why the hell do you have this?" And as if on cue, Lily moved from her chair and out of the door, without saying a goddamn word to anyone. "LILLIAN EVA JONES!" Emma shouted causing her to stall in the doorway. She turned slowly, tears coating her large emerald eyes. Her bottom lip quivered as she exhaled gently. "Come here." Emma commanded, and slow, shaky step by step she made her way to Emma.

"Jones?" Neal repeated. "JONES?" His voice rising, doing just wonders on Killian's tempered state.

"Yes, Jones, mate. She's my daughter, alright." He seethed, his fingers clenched tightly into a fist. Emma couldn't think about that though. Not now, when Lily had matching wounds with Neal.

"You have a daughter? How much time has actually passed?" Neal was relentless.

"Only a year, she's from the future." David explained more softly than anyone else could.

"The future?" Emma could actually hear the gears turning in his head. "And she's your daughter too right, Em?" Neal's voice was less incredulous and more irritated Emma couldn't think about that though, despite the tears filling her eyes, she couldn't think about it, she needed to be Lily's mother and the savior and not deal with his irritation that she made her decision. "Emma! Is she your daughter?" She didn't have time to react to the gruff in his voice. Lily was already there.

"YES!" Lily shouted, pushing Emma beside to address Neal. "She's my mom, okay? I'm her daughter. That's not the point…" Lily breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling. "This is." She extended her hand to Neal, revealing her matching scar. "So just focus like your life depends on it and stop trying to command my mom."

"Lily!" Emma couldn't muster another sound to come out, but that was enough to complete obliterate Lily's will to help Neal.

She fled from the room quickly sobbing "You promised me Emma, I want to go home!"

Emma was partially embarrassed, but more so angry with herself. She was supposed to be proud of her daughter, not recoil the way she did at the sound of Neal's voice. Another motherly fail to add to the list.

Killian however, pulled out his fatherly intuition and chased out after her without a thought. Even Belle moved toward the door, searching for a sign of where she went when Killian suggested she_ stay back for this one._ Because there would be plenty more times in the future where Belle could fill Emma's shoes.

"What the hell was that?" Neal broke through the silent breakdown Emma was preparing herself for. "I mean, my bad for ignoring her the entire time she was sitting here. I thought she looked like you, but ignored it."

"Please just don't talk about her right now." Emma sniffled, pulling herself together before turning to face Belle. "I'm going to send Lily back with you Belle, I think we need to curve our search to focus on this. See if you can get her to talk about her premonitions, since she won't tell me anything now."

"I'm sure she'll forgive in moments, Emma. She's really sweet that way." Belle smiled as if her telling Emma about her own daughter was soothing.

"Yeah." Emma rolled her eyes before moving to take a picture of Neal's hand. "I'm going to send this to you just incase Lily doesn't feel like cooperating."

"Ye of little faith, Swan." Killian smugly grinned as he carried Lily in his arms through the doorway. He whispered something to her, causing her to sniffle and nod before he set her down. Emma held her breath for the fallout.

Lily hesitantly shuffled her feet across the hospital linoleum. Her timid steps reflected the discomfort inside. She leaped up and sat on the bed with Neal, tears leisurely fell from her eyes even still, after her father's predictable comfort.

"I'm sorry." Lily breathed gently. Emma could hear a throat clear inconspicuously from the door. "I am very sorry for the way I just behaved." Lily stated clearly. "I hope you can forgive me. May I see your hand?" Neal looked at Lily warily, before allowing a smile to slip onto his face.

"Of course." He answered softly. "You're really beautiful." he added as Lily's trembling fingers traced the wound. "You have Emma's eyes."

"Thank you." Lily sniffled. She laid her hand palm up beside his. "I'm going to heal them both."

With that, Lily held her left hand over her right, her eyes clenching shut in concentration. It was mere seconds before a glow was present, white, bright and healing. She opened her eyes, watching as she hovered over her hand, the scar vanishing instantly. She moved more confidently to Neal's, but stalled at the last minute.

"What's wrong, Angel?" Neal whispered.

"Nothing." Lily swallowed, pulling herself together and moving her hand above his. If the sudden gasp was any indication that the healing didn't work, the whimper following was a sure sign something went wrong.

"Lily?" Emma began to question, but was quickly shot down.

"Shh." She attempted again, closing her eyes and concentrating, but Emma could see her light white magic shorting out. The glow of her hand began to flicker. "No." She whined quietly. "No, no no, this is supposed to work." Lily held her hand off to the side, shaking it out and taking a deep breath before trying again. "Work." she growled at her hand, waving it over, the light glowed brighter, stronger to the point of producing a buzzing sound. The room became thick with energy. "Work" she demanded, but still no luck.

"It's alright, it doesn't really hurt." Neal supplied, attempting to comfort her. Lily shook her head against the notion.

"It needs to leave, now." She grunted, tears streaming rapidly from her eyes, yet her eyes stayed focused on her hand floating above Neal's. She attempted one last time, a bright light buzzing and blinding but not healing.

"Baby, I think it's time to let it go." Emma approached the bed, lifting her tearful daughter into her arms. "Magic isn't always what you think it ought to be." She expressed softly, wiping tears from Lily's cheeks. "It doesn't work how you think it should."

"Why didn't you claim me?" Lily whispered against Emma's cheek.

"I hesitated, I'm sorry." Emma explained. Lily kept her pout present, and Emma couldn't deny that it broke her heart to see. She failed her again Today. It doesn't matter how much she wants to be a good mom, it's just not in her blood to be.

A silence had fallen amongst the room as Emma stroked Lily's hair and prayed she'd find it in her to forgive once again.

"Em, could uhm, could we get a minute?" Neal interrupted their time together, and before she could even deny him, Belle and David were on their way out of the room. Killian moved forward, relieving her of Lily.

"Say goodbye to Baelfire" he whispered against his daughter's temple. Lily turned her head, a sad smile staining her precious little lips.

"Bye Bae." She croaked out before burying her face in the crook of Killian's neck.

"Bye Angel." Neal waved. Killian didn't spare a glance to Emma as he left. It took two deep breaths and a mental pep talk to get her to turn back around and sit beside Neal on his bed. She forced a smile, though she felt like crying.

"Lily, huh? What made you two pick that name?" He asked as if it weren't small talk but a serious question.

"I haven't picked a name yet, she's from the future." Emma replied with a sarcastic snicker.

"Hook didn't mention reasons as to why he might pick 'Lily?'" Emma narrowed her eyes as she shook her head.

"Lillian and Killian rhyme?" She shrugged.

"So he never told you about Tiger Lily?" Emma rolled her eyes inwardly. _Another damn fairytale character. _

"Oh god, if you tell me she's real I quit." She joked but she wasn't certain she could stomach it.

"She was… she's dead now." He frowned. "Or… missing, who knows what Pan did to her, but she wasn't on the island when we returned last year. Ask him about her later."

"Or you could tell me?" Emma insisted. She felt uneasy about naming her child after a dead person. Although, Henry is named after Regina's dead father. The father she killed herself if the storybook were all that accurate. Either way, she'd appreciate getting to the bottom of it sooner, rather than later.

"I'd rather not spend our time together talking about your future child and husband." Neal grinned, but Emma didn't. "It's good to see you. Better to have you remember me." He continued, but it just made her want to crawl out of her skin. If Lily weren't here, if Lily weren't so upset about not helping him, maybe she could spend a few moments forgetting about Lily.

If she were being honest, she didn't want to. Lily proved that Killian was a sure thing, a sure and happy thing and Neal wasn't. Sitting here, she cared, she'd always care and she loved him, but not the way Lily describes her love for Killian in the future.

"It's good to see you too." It wasn't not 'good' to see him. She was relieved he was alive and not a flying monkey like Walsh. It's just, it didn't feel good to be sitting there seeing him when her mind and heart was elsewhere.

"Has it really been a year?" All at once his mood switched.

"Yeah."

"When can I see Henry?" She had been so caught up in one child, she forgot the other. For the life of her she can't understand why that keeps happening. She doesn't know how to keep them both at the forefront and she's not sure she'll ever learn.

Now with her mind set on Henry, she realizes that no matter how good it is for Neal that she remember's him, Henry doesn't.

"Neal… I don—"

"Just listen, I know I can't come barging back in to your life" or barging in the middle of her sentences. He always had a bad habit of interrupting her.

"No, it's not that." She clarified. "My memories came back but his… he doesn't remember anything…" And it pained her to say it "…The curse, his whole life, you"

"What does he know about his father?" His voice darker, angrier.

"What I knew until about a week ago which is you let me go to jail and never went back for us." Emma

"But I didn't have a choice, you know that."

"Yeah… I know you believe that." Emma explained.

"Believe?"

"Neal"

"So my son has no clue who I am, he just thinks I'm the jerk that abandoned him?" Neal narrowed his eyes at Emma, "You have to get his memories back, there's gotta be something we can do, the blue fairy or—"

"Neal." Emma interrupted. "He was really happy in New York."

"You don't want him to get his memories back? What about Lily? Who does he think she is?"

"She's… Killian's daughter." Emma answered honestly.

"But she's not just his daughter. She's Henry's sister, and I'm his father. I want him to know who I am." Emma felt for him, she did. She wouldn't be able to sit in any of their shoes watching Henry like an outsider when they are family. She also doesn't want her son to remember what it's like to hurt as much as he did before the second curse.

"I want to focus on this villain, your dad, this town first. If it's safe again, I'll figure out the rest with Henry. Until then, I'm sorry." She stood from the bed, offering another sad smile. "He just won't remember.

XXXXXXXXX

Lily sat on the counter of the pawn shop, surrounded by books she had no interest in reading. Her anxiety was through the roof at this point, her legs dangling over the side, one heel gently tapping the glass. Why didn't her magic work? That's how she was instructed to save him. What was she going to do now?

She pulled all her courage into healing him. It was close to impossible, choosing his life over hers, no guarantee she'd exist. She may have been hesitant, but she did all she could to be brave, to do the right thing, the fair thing. To allow Henry his best chance.

"Lily, dear?" Belle called from the back. Lily tried to shake her nerves away but they were reclaiming her with every tremble. "Lillian"

"Yes, Belle?" Lily called back, praying she didn't want her to come find her because her legs were not strong enough. Before Belle could call back, the shop door swung open. "Daddy!" Lily smiled happily. "We didn't see you before we left the hospital."

Killian walked in slow, closing and locking the door behind him. He seemed tense and grim.

"Daddy?" he turned slowly, offering up a fake smile to Lily.

"I told Belle to lock this door." He sighed. "Anyone could have strolled in. "Belle!" Killian called from the front showroom back to the librarian turned shopkeep.

Sadly, the sight of her father didn't loosen the anxiety in her gut. He wasn't his usual self, something was wrong. Terribly wrong and every moment she didn't know what, only gave it the chance to grow more wrong.

"Dad!" Lily shouted once more. Killian held up a hand to silence her as he heard the librarian's footsteps move toward them. Once Belle appeared around the archway, a smile spread across her face.

"Hello." Belle grinned. "Is everything set at the hospital?"

"Neal escaped, I made the mistake of going to get him coffee, and he left." Killian expressed with dyer regret.

"Why wouldn't we want the door unlocked so he could come in?" Lily persisted.

"Because anyone could have come in, Lillian. Anyone or anything." Killian lectured the child.

Lily sat and let it sit for a minute. Neal left the hospital, most likely moving toward the woods. This is where he dies. She needed to go.

"Dad. I need something to eat. Can I go across the street?" Lily jumped down from the counter. Killian turned to her with a raised brow. She lowered her eyes but schooled her features, praying he didn't see anything suspicious.

"We ate before the hospital?" He asked softly. "You can't be hungry now."

"Well, i'm a growing girl."

"I believe it, except for you aren't hungry, you're lying and have no intentions of going to the diner." Killian moved to face her full on, hooking a finger under her chin to raise her gaze to his. "We lie to each other now?"

"Did you not just tell a lie?" Lily countered. "Belle got Bae coffee before we left."

"Is this what your family does? Overanalyze every sentence?" Belle stepped in, gently pressing Killian's chest backward and away from Lily. "Anyhow, I need you right now Lily. I believe I found something in a book about the wound."

"Why do you need me for that?" Lily asked quietly.

"I believe you know why. It's time to talk about your premonitions, sweetheart." Belle replied before tugging her hand over to the back room, leaving an angered Killian to fester.

Lily sat, spilling every detail of her vision, explaining the stone seal where she got the wound, and the dark one absorbing her. She fought back tears and guilt over being able to heal herself but not Neal. Belle was very calm, but her expression was grim. She asked Lily to excuse her, suggesting a possible apology to the man who loves her most, while she called Emma.

Lily moved slowly back into the showroom. Killian reading a book, leaned against a counter. She moved quicker now, rushing to hug him before he could scold her any further. He dropped the book on the counter before wrapping his arms around her.

"Daddy, I'm sorry." Lily sniffled.

"For what, Lilylove?" He questioned softly, picking her up and placing her on the counter so they were eye level.

"For being argumentative and not trusting what you said." Lily confessed. "I was trying to deflect from the lie I was about to tell you."

"And why would you tell me a lie?" He furrowed his brow at her confession, not exactly making her feel inclined to continue. She trudged on anyway, knowing she always felt better when they were honest.

"There's something I need to do and I didn't want to tell you what. I still don't. I can't honestly." She wrinkled her nose in annoyance. Secrets were just so hard. "I hope you understand."

"If you tell me the truth my darling Lillian, I will always understand." Killian smiled. "Haven't I told you my love, there's nothing in this world you could do that I would not forgive"

Lily beamed up at her father, wrapping her arms around his torso. Killian held his daughter tight to him, her head pressed against his chest. The sound of his heartbeat brought Lily back to a place where she didn't have the world on her shoulders. A world where she was just the daughter of a man who loved her more than anything.

Belle stepped into the main room, clutching the phone in her hand. Her eyes were red and widened. Fear crept up Lily's spine. Lily wasn't just the daughter of a man who loved her more than anything, she was Lillian Jones, girl on a mission. A mission she could not fail. 

"I have to go." She whispered. She pushed Killian back, jumping off the counter. Killian caught her wrist and pulled her back. "No Daddy, please, trust me. I won't lie but I can't stay. I have to go!" Lily pleaded, Killian's blue eyes bore into Lily's and she felt her skin burn. "Daddy, please" He reluctantly dropped her wrist without even a word. She mouthed 'thank you.' On her way out of the door, she grabbed a sword from the umbrella basket by the window.

Lily ran faster than she ever has, leaping over bushes and maneuvering past joggers and strollers on the trail that led to the woods. The ground beneath her feet was bouncing against her speed. She ran as hard as she could, rushing as quickly as possible to find them.

Amongst the trees she took a breath to listen. She took a moment to hear anything, anything at all. A groan shook her core, she felt it in her gut and ran in the direction of it. Her heart was racing and she could only pray she wasn't too late. She could only pray she wouldn't fail.

The clearing was quiet, the sound of short pants and small sobs. Lily stumbled out of the trees, horrified by the fear in Mr. Gold's eyes. Traumatized by the pain in her mother's. She dropped her sword, moving closer and closer in quiet steps. Emma was clenching Neal tight, just like her vision. She threw herself to the ground beside her before Emma even realized she was there.

"Lily!" Emma whimpered. "Don't.. don't look at this."

"I have to help." Lily's eyes blurred her vision as tears she didn't know about took them over.

"No" Neal gasped, barely hanging onto air. "You have to let me die."

"NO!" Lily sobbed. "I can't. I have to…"

"No, child. You can't." Gold approached. He moved to grab her shoulders when he was struck with a jolt of energy, falling back on his back.

"Lily." Emma's eyes widened in horror, like she was staring at a monster, out of control of her magic, of her emotions. Lily couldn't focus on the hurt that caused her, she had only seconds before it was too late. Magic can do a lot, but it can't bring back the dead.

Lily looked down at Neal, his body trembling, his eyes closing. She waved her trembling hands over him, praying her magic would pull through for her, just this once, just this one time, please.

_Please._

No luck to be had. Her hands shimmered in a white light, but didn't glow like they normally did. She gripped his sweatshirt, hot, traitorous tears tumbled down her cheeks and nothing made sense anymore. She was told this would work. Promised, this would work, but it isn't. It's not working and it's not right, and it's not fair.

Lily could feel him leaving his body. She could feel his spirit moving on beneath her hands. There was the finish line and she didn't make it. She failed. Everything, every moment in this week was leading up to this and now she was in the past, changing everything but the one thing she came back to change.

"NO!" She screamed. "BAE! BAE!" There was no movement but her mother's body trembling beneath him. There was no noise but a small, nagging buzzing in her ears. Her eyes stopped filling with tears. She stopped struggling. All the fight went out and she allowed herself to fail. She accepted it, allowing herself to collapse over his chest, allowing everything to leave her.

Of course the guilt was far from gone, the pain, the anger wasn't going anywhere, but in this moment, she was completely numb. There was nothing in this world quite like leaving it. Death was the only constant, and there was no controlling a constant.

Lily can't be sure how long she laid there, or who the man was that lifted her off of his body. She wasn't aware of anything, but not succeeding. She failed. He was dead. The voices talking to her weren't familiar anymore. Nothing felt familiar. Nothing felt like home, or earth. She was miles away, in a distant atmosphere just drifting. Just numb and drifting and it wasn't right, and it wasn't fair and she was anything but brave. All the sounds, sights and smells blended together to make browns and grays. All the reasons to live seemed unobtainable. The life in her went out, and she was just existing.

_Existing. _

"_Darling if you do this, you may not exist, but it will be for the greatest good." Gold warned as he placed the wand on the counter top. "Your brother will appreciate his real father. You love your brother don't you?"_

_Lily could only nod at first. "Of course I love my brother." _

"_We sacrifice for those we love. Are you willing to make a sacrifice, more heroic than most?" And his voice was so sincere, genuinely concerned for the happiness of his only grandchild. _

"_Of course." Lily nodded. "I was born to be a heroin. I was born to sacrifice."_

"_Great. Thats why you are perfect for this." Gold grinned. "Remember dearie, all magic comes with a price. I have been completely honest about what yours will be."_

"_I understand. I believe in my parents' love. I'll exist." Lily smiled. "I can do this. I will do this, for Henry."_

"_For Henry." Gold grinned. "There's one last thing. One last thing you'll need."_

"_What's that."_

"_Foresight. It's a powerful gift, it will make you unstoppable for all future battles to come. Now Lillian, I've never shared this gift with anyone, it's because I believe in you. No prophecy could ever predict how absolutely rare you are." And he sounded like he was her biggest fan. Lily bathed in his praise, holding her hands out flat for the gift. Gold leaned forward against the counter, placing his palms on top of hers. "Close your eyes." _

_Lily did as she was told. She closed her eyes and held her breathe and before she had a moment to exhale it hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt force blowing out the walls of her mind, and her knees gave out, throwing her on her back. The visions that ran rapidly through her mind were like a channel being changed constantly at the speed of light. The sight and sounds crippled her as she groaned in agony. It was unbearable, and she wasn't strong enough, she wasn't developed enough to contain this much energy at once. She felt like she was crawling up the walls, her skin being tugged in every which way. _

_Until it was all black. There was nothing. No noise, or light. No feelings to be had. She rose with her eyes closed, her knees locked like she were possessed. It wasn't until she opened up, to find his palms still hovering over hers, that she realized she never fell to her back to begin with. _

"_What was that?" Lily croaked, her body pulsing with unwanted buzzes and intensities. _

"_Why, child, the gift." Gold grinned wickedly. All the trust she felt, faded. She looked at him for the snake he was in the history books. She looked at him like the villain he'd been for centuries. She stepped back slowly. _

"_The seer forced it down your throat. As you just did me." Lily scowled. "How could you force such a disruption into my life. How dare you curse me like this. I trusted you." tears flooded Lily's eyes. _

"_Dearie, calm down. I did it to help you. Not just now, but always. You'll know what's coming."_

"_The future is unpredictable. No premonition, no vision can know what's coming. This, this gift, her gift is what caused the last 300 years of turmoil. Your actions on the frontline left your child fatherless, and you comprehended wrong. I don't need your gifts, I have intuition."_

"_Well, you shall have them anyway!" Gold shouted._

"_TAKE THEM BACK!" Lily slammed her hands on the counter. "TAKE THEM BACK NOW"_

"_Not only will I not." Gold walked around the counter to get very close to Lily. "But shall you fail, I will take the lives of those you love, so you understand how Henry feels. How would you like to be the one fatherless?"_

"_NO!" Lily cried out. "No, please." Lily whimpered. "I'll go. I won't fail."_

"_Splendid. And when you return, I'll show you a much simpler way to receive your visions." Gold smiled, returning to his place behind the counter. "Now take the wand and speak no words, are we clear?"_

"_Crystal." Lily sniffled, snatching the wand and bolting out of the pawn shop._

Lily felt her father's scruff against her cheek. The first thing to knock her back into reality. She lost all track of time, but here she was back in the shop. His cheeks were wet against hers and she couldn't bare to look him in the eyes. She wanted to scream, every emotion breaking through the numbness, she wanted to cry.

"I love you." He whispered in the most devastating tone she's ever heard.

"Daddy." Lily whimpered, dropping her head to his shoulder. Gripping his leather like she was being pulled away. "I'm so sorry." The air in her lungs rushed out as he gripped her tighter in his embrace. Tears moistened the leather she was laying her head on but she couldn't bring herself to dry them, or let go.

"Don't be sorry." Killian whispered "Be here with me. Just be here." And so she was. She stayed, in his arms for a while. Voices carried on along with sobs and sniffles, but she stayed in her bubble with her father.

It wasn't until her grandparents resurfaced, a broken librarian following behind, that she was set down. She stayed beside him, holding his hand as tight as she could manage. Everyone had tired eyes, everyone was distraught but Belle, Belle was completely shattered. She felt it in her soul, the uncontrollable despair that overtook the librarian.

"We're going to head back, perhaps… uhm…" Mary Margaret began. "Perhaps you should check on Emma and Henry?" She directed toward Killian but Lily couldn't find the strength to hazard a glance up to his face. She couldn't bear to see the despair he possessed as well.

"I don't think that's as good an idea as you." Killian breathed lowly and Lily's heart hurt every time she exhaled. She was meant to prevent this devastation. "I think she needs this time… perhaps I'll stay with Belle. Perhaps… perhaps make pr…" Lily clenched her eyes shut. His voice doing a number on her resolve.

"Right." David nodded quickly. "Preparations, Belle is going to call her father. He owns the only flower shop in town. "We'll handle Granny and the wake. Just…" David stopped himself looking down to find Lily's eyes still squeezed tight. "Baby girl, do you want to go with us, or do you want to stay here?"

Lily slowly opened her eyes, chancing a glance around the room, then to her father. Killian smiled down at her, but it didn't change the fact that he looked completely ruined by everything. She sucked in as much air as possible but her lungs felt like they were collapsing again. She fought her body tooth and nail not to fall into a panic attack.

"Shhh." Killian crouched down, holding her cheek. "I'm right here, you're okay. Breathe with me." He flattened her hand against his chest, "In and out. Just like that." So she followed his breathe, and she matched her heart beats to his, staring directly in his eyes. A feeling of gratitude washed over. He was heartbroken, but made her his priority once again.

"I wanna stay with you, Daddy." She whimpered.

"Then stay you shall." He smiled once more before wrapping her up in a hug and lifting her with himself. Killian ran his hands through her hair, pressing his lips against her brow. "Right next to me, love." Lily wrapped her fingers in his necklace, like she use to, soaking in all that he was. "Darling. Why don't you give some of your affections to Belle. I'm going to walk you grandparents out." Lily looked up at him, his face more sure, more definite than before. So she planted a kiss on his brow before he set her down. She walked between her grandparents, touching them gently as she went to let them know she cares.

Belle offered a sweet smile, but behind were red eyes and tear stains. Few people she put in a circle, an impenetrable circle. People who she'd never tire of, and always love and give her life for. Belle was in it, with her sweet words, and comforting hugs. She was the woman Lily went to when she didn't think her mother would understand. The woman she could trust to better explain her mistakes. Belle held her through a few emotional moments, and now it was her turn.

"Belle." Lily beamed up at her. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"


	8. Chapter 6: Nice is Different Than Good

A/N: This might be angsty, in the sense that probably I might have actually teared up at parts and I feel terribly hoping that you all do the same. I've been super inspired by "Into The Woods" this month, and part of Lily's sweet naivety reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood's in "Into The Woods" so I named this chapter after a line in the song she sings. If you haven't seen any of the versions, check out 'I Know Things Now' if you're interested.

Thanks again for reading, fav, following and reviewing.

**I do not own nor am I affiliated with OUAT. **I thank the creators daily for bringing such substantial meaning to my free time.

_**Chapter 6: Nice is different than good(And Evil has nothing on Wicked)**_

Things were peaceful. The tears were all gone and she finally felt her headache dissipate. It's easier this time, losing him. She knows he didn't die alone, knows he's not suffering in some far off realm until his pain puts him out of his misery. She dealt with the first initial stages of grief last time. Now she's just left with anger. She's just so damn pissed that she can't think about much right now other than her son, sitting on the bed reading books he picked up from the library, and the Wicked Witch whose to blame for his father's death.

"Hey Mom?" She veered over to find Henry peeking up at her from his book.

"Yeah, kid?" Emma answered with a sad smile. Of course she wasn't completely at peace, it was just a 'gentle hurt' now, not the soul-crushing kind she began with.

"If you came back here to help my dad, but Killian brought you back, does that mean Killian knew my dad?" Emma could kick herself for not thinking about Killian once in the last seven hours since she left the hospital.

"Yeah, they were old friends, a lifetime ago." Emma thought back to Neverland. She remembered every time he mentioned Neal, or when he risked his own happiness to save Neal, risked his secret to rescue him. They were more than just 'old' friends.

"Before or after you?" Henry continued with his line of questioning. There really was no stopping this kid when he got this way. Rapid fire was his favorite game.

"Before?" Emma answered softly.

"And then you chose my dad after you kissed Killian?"

"WHAT?" Emma choked on air, spit, her tongue, she wasn't really sure, she just knew breathing became much more difficult. "Who… what?"

"Lily told me you kissed her dad a long time ago. She said he never forgot it, or you. She thinks he's in love with you. But you chose my dad?"

"It wasn't like that. I never chose anyone. I… Killian was after your dad and I. I didn't know Killian then."

"Do you think you would have picked Killian then, if you did?"

"Henry, you can't just go around 'picking' people. " Emma explained. "People aren't flowers or a type of ice cream in a store. Plus, I just got out of a relationship, why would I want to even think about picking Killian over someone who just died?" It came out harsh, but Henry was too relentless with his line of questioning to take any offense.

"But you still have feelings for Killian?"

"Sure." Emma shrugged. She could admit that. He was unfairly attractive, he had an ungodly way with words and watching him with Lily caused a series of tiny explosions throughout her body that she can't quite explain. She could admit feelings were there.

"Cool." Henry smiled simply as if they were done. Emma kept her eyes on him for another moment, knowing he wasn't done. "So then, did Lily know my dad?"

_Lily_

Emma felt it shuffle to the surface, the vast array of different guilts she felt regarding Lily. There was the mild guilt she always felt when she thought about one child more than the other. Then a little stronger was the tinge and burning gut feeling because she forgot Lily was meant to stay over Tonight. Finally, the brutal churning in her gut over what Lily went through and how instead of searching her out, making her feel better about seeing someone die, she avoided her at all costs because she didn't know what to do or say.

"She just met him Today, actually." Emma inhaled deeply, letting it out uneasy and slow. "She was there…when he died."

"What?" Henry sat up from his lounging position and stared at Emma with wide, concerned eyes, urging her to continue.

"It happened in the forest, she was supposed to be with Belle, but she wasn't and she was there, and…" Tears resurfaced at her lower lash lines. She swallowed the cry itching to come out because of revisiting Neal's final moments, and her daughter's desperate attempt to save him. "… she stayed with him until he was gone."

"Oh my God!" Henry gasped. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know." Emma answered honestly. "She's with her dad. I'm sure he's helping her."

"And who's helping him?"

"She is. That's how the dynamic works. Just like us. You and me, right?"

"Right." Henry nodded, settling back down with a defeated sigh. "It just doesn't have to be" he mumbled. According to Lily, it wouldn't be for long, but Emma wasn't about to tell him that.

_Knock Knock_

"I'll get it." Henry offered, but Emma wasn't allowing him to do anything of the sort with a Wicked Witch rolling around. She rose from the chair, waving a hand to halt his actions as she moved across the room to the door.

Upon opening it, she hadn't thought to prepare herself to see Killian. Once again, he fell to the dark corner of her mind and naturally she was in the front of his, because here he was seeking her out.

"Hey…" she avoided his eyes, staring at the hair peeking out of his shirt. "How are you?"

"How are you?" He countered, moving closer to her space. She opened the door wider, allowing him to reach her fully. When his arms moved around her, she fell into him without thought. He was the safest place she's had in a while and she could use some safe.

"I'm fine." She sighed into his neck, her arms draped around his shoulders. "How's Lily?"

"I'm good." Emma jumped from Killian's arms quickly before searching out the owner of the voice. For whatever reason, she didn't see a small brunette when she first opened the door. Lily stood a little ways behind her father, eyes red and tired. 'Good' sounded like a lie, but Emma wouldn't push her.

"Baby." Emma breathed painfully, dropping to her knees to meet Lily's eyes. "Come here." Lily was hesitant, she met her father's eyes before moving forward. As soon as she was in arm's length, Emma wrapped her up in a tight embrace, cradling her head close. "Lily I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorrier." Lily whispered. "I wanted to save him for you and Henry. I really did."

"Is he alive in the future?" Emma spoke just as quietly. Lily shook her head cautiously against Emma's cheek. Emma inhaled sharply, holding it and squeezing her even tighter. "Then that's just the way it works."

"I love you" Lily whimpered, Emma could feel tears sliding between both of their cheeks. "I love you and Henry so much and I just…"

"Shhh." Emma tried her best to calm her, running her fingers through the dark silky waves. "You are so brave, I love you so much you beautiful, brave little girl."

"I don't feel brave."

"That's alright, the bravest people never do."

"Mom? Who is… Lily?" Henry's voice ripped Lily from Emma's arms. Lily quickly turned around, burying her face in Killian's jacket. "Lily, hey, are you okay?"

"Don't ask me that, I should be asking you that." She let out in a muffled cry. Emma rose from her knees, pulling Henry into her side, her hand over his shoulder.

"Well, ask me." Henry let out a small chuckle. "Let's get it out of the way so I can ask you back." Lily slowly turned out of her hiding space, her tired tearful eyes facing downward.

"Are… are you okay?" She muttered under her breath, barely audible for anyone to hear.

"Yeah, Kid. Are you?" He asked back to her with concern.

"No." Lily answered honestly. "I'm really sad for you. I just want you to be happy."

"I've been happy my whole life, he's never been there. Don't worry, I can be happy again." Henry reassured her, stepping away from Emma to pull his sister into a hug. "Thank you for caring though"

"Of course I care." Lily spoke into his shoulder, "We're practically family."

"You mean that?" Henry pulled back a bit to meet her eyes. Lily nodded eagerly, finally a smile splaying across her face.

"Henry, why don't you take Lily inside and show her how far you got on those books from the library. I wanna talk to Killian for a second." Emma suggested. Henry held a smug grin as he tugged his sister's hand toward the room. Emma may have overheard hushed words about 'parent trap' but she ignored it, closing the door after them and stepping further into the hall with Killian.

"I understand if you're not up for keeping her tonight." Killian began. Emma shook her head against the notion, she had a different conversation in mind.

"Who is Tiger Lily?"

"I'm sorry?" Killian narrowed his eyes a bit before deferring his focus altogether. "I mean… Baelfire mentioned her Today?"

"Yeah." Emma folded her arms in front of her chest defensively. She saw him gear up to lie so quickly, she was afraid of what the truth sounded like. "Did it ever occur to you that you named Lily that for a reason?"

"Lilies were my mother's favorite flower. Liam brought them to her grave. Lily is a versatile flower, a vast range of types. Water lilies plagued the ponds we use to play in as children. Liam wore a stargazer's lily to his captaining ball. There are some as blue as the ocean, and some as white as the heavens. I appreciate each one." Killian expressed gravely. "Then there's Tiger Lily."

"Yeah?" Emma pressed him to continue.

"She was the lone survivor of a ship wreck. The Picaninny tribe inhabited Neverland after a small boy made a wish from the deck of their ship. Many years later, they wished to leave the island. They almost did, but no one leaves without Pan's permission. The ship came crashing down among the shore, and the lieutenant in me can never leave a shipwreck without checking for survivors."

"You mean the hero in you?" Emma corrected.

"Don't." He rejected that term more often than anything. "I searched the ship with my crew, Bae was present, and we rescued her. She was a lot like Lily." He spoke with reverence.

"How so?"

"Beautiful, vibrant, loving and gifted."

"She had magic?"

"Aye. It was her undoing. The moment Pan witnessed the power she possessed, he made claim on her. He raided our camp with lost boys, one Rufio in particular. They captured her and stole her away. She had to be no older than Lily's age. Still, we never laid eyes on her again." He tried hard, Emma could tell he was trying damn hard to hide his overwhelming sense of loss, but it was burning off of him like gas fumes.

"And you named our daughter after her."

"No. I haven't named anyone yet." Emma cringed inwardly over how much similar they were. She must have replied the same thing not even eight hours prior.

"Killian, was she important to you?" Emma met his eyes head on, her voice too straightforward for him to look elsewhere.

"Aye."

A little glimpse into his past was all she needed to know how important their future was to him. He's been alone longer than anyone she knows, and he tries so desperately to fix that until too many losses killed his hope. Then comes Lily, and of course he wants a family. Who doesn't? It's not the want that gets her, it's the desperate need leaving him able to adopt a new found love for any and every person willing to give him a chance.

"How long have you been looking for a family?" Emma folded. Her arms dropped to her sides, her fingers itching to fumble along his jawline before submerging into his hair. She wouldn't mind waking up tomorrow as future Emma who can embrace him during times like these without inhibitions.

"Would you believe me if I said 'centuries?'" He chuckled nervously and it only made the urge to touch him greater. "Speaking of family… I do want to inform your lad of the service tomorrow."

"Service? Tomorrow? That's like really speedy." Emma shivered with chills and feelings of guilt for thinking only of Killian when Neal just died that afternoon.

"Aye, according to Belle, there isn't much business with a town this small, so they bury almost immediately." Killian frowned with uncertainty. "At sea, we bury within hours."

"It's not really a burial, you dump bodies into the water." Emma shrugged having no idea how insensitive that was until she caught glimpse of Killian's wounded demeanor. "I mean… Killian I'm sorry."

"s'fine." He brushed past her to open the door of her room. "Lily, Henry." She heard him begin and she almost wanted to wait outside until he was done. The only reason she allowed her feet to follow behind his was her need to gage her son's reaction.

In the room, Henry and Lily were thigh to thigh on his bed, a PSP in her daughter's hands. She had already discarded her leather jacket and combat boots on and near one of the chairs by the table. She sat in a white v-neck and skinny jeans, hair beautifully tousled and full, looking like someone's Guess Denim model. Emma knew she resembled her, but sitting on the bed with bright eyes and a natural pout, she was as beautiful as her GQ looking father.

"Killian, I didn't ask you if you were alright?" Henry remembered, his eyes following the pirate's every move. Killian quirked an eyebrow in confusion before tilting his head like a lost puppy.

"You're wondering of _my _stability when _you_ lost your father?" His voice was changing in pitch to match the height of his confusion. "Lad, are yo—"

"You knew him better than I did." Henry interrupted. "You were old friends, you… I have no idea who he is. I have no idea who part of me is. I'm not upset, I'm angry if anything." Killian sank to his knees before Henry, while Lily intertwined her fingers with her brother.

Emma wanted to be upset that he couldn't confess that to her, more upset that he thinks he's never met Neal, but all she could feel was thankful someone was there he saw fit to speak with about it.

"The worst thing you can do is define yourself by who your lineage is. My father was a coward who abandoned me. My mother was a saint, but I am neither." Killian's seriousness was mesmerizing. "You don't belong to their name, you are your own man. You are who you are and no one can change that but you. No man, father or child can define that but you."

"Don't you ever wonder? Don't you ever…" Henry swallowed frustratedly. His eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Aren't you angry?"

"It's been a long while since I've been angry with either of them, but I have been for a great time before, and the worst thing I did was convince myself it was wrong to feel that way, to feel betrayed because the woman I loved left me. She had no choice, and if your father did, he would have stayed."

"She would have stayed too, Daddy." Lily whispered. Killian smiled to himself at her words before meeting her eyes.

"It wasn't her destiny to." He explained sweetly. "My love, destines allow us to do our bidding, and leave when done." Lily watched his eyes for only a second longer before whipping her head away from he and Henry. Emma struggled, watching the battle within her daughter. It was evident all over that child that she was struggling with not saving Neal. Killian knows everything, and says the words people need to hear. Lily needed to hear this more than anything.

"I don't want to be angry, I don't want to be anything at all. I wish I never knew. My whole life I just wanted to know, but now knowing… I hate it." Henry sniffled, clenching his eyes shut. Emma could see him trying his best to hold it together too, and she wanted so badly to tell them both to just let it out. It's okay to cry.

But then she'd be a hypocrite because she hates herself for crying every time she does.

"I just want closure." Henry continued with a shaky voice.

"I'm not sure how much you'll get from this…" Killian began "however, tomorrow morning, just before noon the town will all be attending his service."

"You'll be there, right. You and Lily?" Henry looked between his sister and Killian nervous of their response.

"Of course." Killian smiled. "Right beside you, and if you want to scream, or cry or leave, we'll be with you."

"Like family." Lily sniffled. "You, and me, and Emma and my dad. Half this town has already fallen in love with you. Ruby, and Leroy, Granny and Aunt Gina, David and Mary Margaret, and when you meet Belle, she'll be fond of you too. This town is very family orientated. You'll never have to feel alone again." Lily promised.

The idea of Henry feeling 'alone' at all to begin with stung Emma in places she couldn't soothe. It had been just the two of them all of his life, in his mind. He believes he's only ever had Emma, and Lily's implying that was never enough. Did he tell her that?

"Like family." Henry grinned at his sister. "I like the sound of that."

"How do you like the sound of Lily sleeping over?" Emma moved from the doorway to sit on her bed and watch their reaction. Henry seemed to only perk up more, but Lily was more timid and reserved, very out of character.

"Sounds great, we can play more PSP, read some of these stories, I even picked up a book Killian's sure to like. _The Adventures of Peter Pan?"_

"I believe you'll find Captain Hook much more likable." Killian smugly grinned in reply. "Then I'll accept your apology, on his behalf, of course."

"Of course." Henry chuckled. Emma however kept her eyes on the uncertainty of her daughter.

"Baby, do you wanna stay over still?" Emma asked sincerely. Of course she would be thinking of her father being alone, Emma was thinking of him being alone.

"Yeah, but…" Lily watched her dad for signs of displeasure. "Daddy, are you gonna be okay alone?"

"Of course, Lilylove." Killian rose from the floor, leaning over to kiss Lily's forehead."I will most certainly miss you, but I believe you'll have a great time with Henry and Emma."

"And you'll see me first thing in the morning. Right?"

"Right." Killian confirmed. The room was full of apprehension. Killian hesitated leaving, Lily appearing to want to latch onto him, glue him to her side, and Henry watched Killian's moves intently.

"Why don't you stay for a little while longer? Lily swears you are the best story teller." Henry suggested, Lily nodded enthusiastically at the idea.

"Uhm." And there was the ear scratch, Emma knew she could let him drown in his insecurities, or throw him a life jacket herself.

"Stay." Emma gently ordered, patting the bed beside her. "I wanna see these storytelling skills at play." He was a bit hesitant, but folded with Lily's pleading pout aiding Emma's hopeful eyes and Henry's bright, eager grin.

"Only because I can do the voices justice."

XXXXXXXXX

She fell asleep somewhere between "One more chapter!" and Lily playing in her hair so lovingly she couldn't keep her eyes open. His accent was soothing when it wanted to be, and she could use some soothing in her life, so she let it and him coax her into a deep sleep. When she woke to find him actually asleep beside her, she knew it was the work of her children, laying like angels beside one another on the bed Henry claims as his in their home away from home.

She moved softly, sliding the book from his chest and resting it on the end table. His leather jacket since forgotten near Lily's on the chair. He was propped peacefully against a few extra pillows, and she'd have to admit this was the first time she's seen him asleep like this. Even in Neverland, he was only half asleep. Even in the hospital, he was aware of her presence. Here however, he didn't react to her sliding from his immediate space. She sat back, cataloging him in his sleeping state. It must have been a year since he's fallen this deep into dreams.

_It'd be criminal to wake him now. _

Still, it'd be highly inappropriate to fall back asleep beside him, despite her finding out exactly what 'Operation Parent Trap' entailed. She's inclined to believe Henry came up with it, seeing as the name has his written all over it. That kid is just begging for a chance as a special agent somewhere.

"Swan?" his voice whispered into the thick warmth of the room. It surrounded her on all sides, although her were just on one.

"Yeah?" she whispered back, just as quietly.

"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep. I'll…" He began lifting from the bed when Emma placed a hand on his chest, pressing him back down.

"Sleep."his bright blue eyes shone through the darkness, she could see the hesitation. "Just sleep, it makes Lily feel better, we're both here, and there's nothing wrong with laying fully clothed beside each other."

"You'll lay beside me, still?" he questioned quietly.

"Mhmm" She hummed, resting her head on his shoulder, throwing her arm over his waist. "You're comfortable, and I could use some comfort."

_Comfort, safety, soothing._

XXXXXXXXX

The cemetery was calmly quiet, much less violent than the cemetery growing between Lily's ribs. The trees swayed in the breeze, leaves on branches rustling whenever the gust picked up. This was her first funeral. Thanks to her ignorance, it would not be her last. Today they'll bury Henry's father, but when she's home next week, she can anticipate the body in the casket to be her own father.

She's thought of it before, whenever they go running off to battle, how her parents would be remembered, and how they'd be lain to rest. The idea of dirt blocking her voice from their ears cripples her. Her father would want a sea burial like his brother. She would send him off, the way all great sailors were sent off. Never needing to say goodbye because the moment the sweet scent of salt water filled her lungs, she'd know he were listening.

She thought she'd be much older though, and the choice would be partially hers then, mature enough to make arrangements. She never thought she'd be eight. Standing next to her brother now she's sure Henry never thought he'd be twelve. He wore his black peacoat, with the anchor buttons that her dad loved most, and an unreadable expression.

The entire town was all dressed in black, she herself wore one of Regina's gifted dresses, black bodice with maroon satin flowers covering the skirt. The flowers provided for the funeral were more lovely though and the service was minimal, yet kind. The priest gave a standard, catholic eulogy and blessed the departure.

"With that, let us lay him to rest." The priest spoke with finality. Lily figured it were a metaphor. There's no room to argue when death is a constant. It's not a wedding, no one gets to object because death was not going to run out of the church and leave the soul with a grieving family. Death was going through with it, grieving families be damned.

Lily had seen her mother cry more than enough the last few days, she was certain this would be no exception. She was wrong. Emma's eyes were the driest in the crowd. She stood stoic, anger seeping from her pores.

Lily had little time to study her before her father stepped up first, lifting the shovel to the pile of dirt. This was the worst tradition funerals had in Lily's opinion. It was not a 'goodbye,' it felt like a 'good riddance' and she hated the idea of helping to bury the man she was sent here to save. The repetitive sound of dirt hitting the lamented wood of Neal's casket felt like needles pricking her heart. She closed her eyes and sighed when it was her turn.

Lily walked down the aisle to the shovel, praying it were too heavy for her to lift. Her hands shook and she felt the weight of the world at the end of the wooden pole. She hesitated, holding the shovel for a moment, tears forming once more. She felt a hand on her back before a gentle tug at the shovel. She turned to find Henry smiling down at her. She released the shovel as he propped it back against the wheelbarrow of dirt. He pulled a handful of dirt from the pile and spread it over the casket, nodding for Lily to do the same. She figured it was his father's funeral, he could do it how ever he wanted and if he gave the permissions, so could she.

That didn't stop her tiny hand from shaking as she picked up the dirt, nor did her arm stop trembling when she held it out over the open ground. She sprinkled the dirt out slowly with her final apologies.

The pain had yet to subside. She was too weak, too slow, too preoccupied with her parents. She was too selfish. Heroes weren't selfish, they were fearless, brave and cunning. She's standing beside her brother, at his father's funeral and she couldn't stop the pain for him. She doesn't want to even look at him, because she couldn't stop the pain for him.

But she does look at him.

And he smiles at her, as he reaches for her hand. He's comforting her, because, well because he doesn't remember his father. That's the worst part.

"Henry." Lily whimpered as tears flood her vision. He tugs her hand toward him before letting go and using that arm to wrap around her shoulders and guide her back to their place among the rest.

"Shhh." He hushes against her temples. "This is my first funeral, too." Lily nodded.

There was a pause within her as she watched the rest of the crowd pay their respects and begin to leave. This was finally ending and Henry was still memory-less. None of this felt right to her. He needed to remember.

"Henry?" Lily whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his embracing arm around her shoulder. He turned to her, still smiling. "I love you." His smile widened even more.

"I love you too kid."

That's the basics, isn't it. Two people truly love each other and they are true love, so she can kiss him, meaning to break a curse and it should work. That's all, just rise to her tippy-toes and press a kiss on his cheek and he'll remember and…

_and be devastated because he's at his father's funeral. _

So she flattened her feet against the grass, and laid her head against his shoulder. It might have not been right, but it wasn't exactly wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Leaving the cemetery was easier than she expected. Lily and Killian remained for a little while longer and that's where the difficulty arose. She can leave Neal, he's already left this world, but it doesn't feel right leaving people who are grieving him.

Killian wanted to be alone for a moment, but one glimpse of the guilt and sorrow in Lily's eyes and he decided he could be alone with Lily beside him.

She's been so afraid to leave him. She holds her breathe when he retires to the bathroom, she nearly had a panic attack when she woke up and he was already back in his room. She moves to touch him every other minute and for the life of her, Emma doesn't know what changed.

Of course they are close, he's her dad and she's his baby girl, but this new closeness is obsessive, and Emma's afraid it has to do with Neal dying and Lily coming to terms with the fragility of life. It's a lesson everyone learns, but eight is a hell of an age to learn it at.

Still, she allows it. She wouldn't be able to stop it if she tried. So she kisses her and rubs a comforting hand down his arm before trucking on toward the diner, an apprehensive Henry by her side.

"Do you think they'll come after Killian next?" Henry asked hesitantly as they were in the bug, driving toward to Granny's.

"No." Emma answered quickly, strong enough to convince herself.

"Well, I think Lily does." He's always been perceptive; he reads people so well, yet he doesn't know that he's met every single one of these people before.

"Yeah, she does seem really clingy." Emma sighed, making a left hand turn on main street and using her whole body to spin the steering wheel. "I think she's still shaken up over what happened."

"More like scarred." Henry corrected. "It's like you always say mom, you can't unsee things, something's gone in and spoiled her sweet head, now she sees dead bodies everywhere she looks."

Emma's eyes widened in horror, she slammed on the breaks, turning to Henry with a look of pure fear. "She told you that?!"

"She mentioned it, after you and Killian fell asleep." Henry frowned. "I heard her sniffling as she pulled herself away from him to crawl into my bed. I asked her what was wrong and she just said she was afraid to close her eyes and see anything."

"Did she tell you that she actually sees things when she closes her eyes?" Emma heard horns sounding in the background but she couldn't pull herself away from Henry's eyes so she flashed her hazards and continued the conversation."

"She said she saw my dad die. Or… She saw herself die as my dad." Henry inhaled sharply when recognition hit. "She has visions?"

"Yeah." Emma nodded quickly. "They uhm… She wouldn't tell me them. She just showed me the wound they left."

"Woah, hold on!" Henry's eyes were bulging from his head with concern "she gets hurt from them? They can hurt her?"

"Apparently. Did she tell you she saw anything else?"

"Not last night." Henry shared his grandfather's thoughtful expression, turning his eyes from Emma's to think. "Mom, I don't want to leave Storybrooke. I don't want to leave her."

If they stayed in Storybrooke and he had no memory, creating Lily once more would be really inappropriate. She'd be expected to name her something else, it was all a terrible situation. Somewhere between here and there Henry either needed his memories, or Emma had to burst another lie bubble. She can only imagine the fallout when he finds that the girl he is suddenly too attached to is actually his sister.

"Henry, she has family, she won't be alone." Emma deferred.

"There are no kids here, no one who understands her."he protested, unwilling to allow this to settle.

"Because you being four years older and not having magic makes you so understanding?" She'll condemn herself later for her poor choices.

"Because me loving her like a sister makes me understanding. And you love her like a daughter, so why are you so ready to drop her?"

"Henry!"

"I see the way you look at her, the way you hold her, touch her face, smile at her, kiss her. You love her so much, she's a part of you. You guys even look alike. "

That's because she is her daughter, but he doesn't know that.

"Henry, it's been four days."

"And I'm already connected to her, imagine another week. We can't leave her."

"We need to go to this wake. Not talk about adopting a child that has a dad."

"If you marry Killian, it won't be adoption, it will unify all four of us."

"You want me to marry a man you just met because you like his daughter's company."

"I want you to marry a man committed to making us all happy, and he's obviously a wonderful father. And Lily and I saw you together this morning." Emma thought he woke up early enough, left soon enough that they missed the sight of her in his arms. She's an idiot. "Plus, you did admit to having feelings for him last night. I don't understand why it's so far fetched."

"We just buried your father!" She didn't mean to scream, but she wanted this to be right and right now it felt wrong. It felt rushed, forced and wrong. "Henry, why are you so fixated on having a big family, I thought you liked what we had in New York?"

"If you grow up believing there's only vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream, you can say that chocolate's the best. Then you learn how many other ice creams there are and it's hard to want just plain chocolate"

"Just plain chocolate?" Emma chuckled dryly. "Right, that feels good, being just plain chocolate."

"I'm not trying to hurt you mom, I just want more for us." Henry voiced exasperated. This conversation wasn't a joke but taking it serious, hearing her fears of not being enough was just too much to take seriously right now.

"You want family, not just me, but a whole family and you were willing to have me marry a guy you only thought was 'okay' for the prospect of family. You don't care how you get it, you just want more than me." _Did Henry ever like Walsh?_

"You're making this about you and my dad, it's not. It's about me wanting to have someone else to go to, someone else for you to confide in. It's been heavy, watching you hold it all in, it's been heavy pretending that I can talk to you about everything, but holding it all in too. Maybe New York isn't everything I thought it was, maybe I've been trying to convince myself that something hasn't always been missing. That our memories don't seem… distant and unobtainable. I try to think back to our first christmas in that apartment in Boston, I try to remember my kindergarten graduation but I can't because it wasn't anything special Mom. I want special. I don't want just you watching me walk at graduation. I want a family dinner the night before I get married, not you, me and whoever I end up with."

Emma tried not to let this turn her into the sobbing mess she knew was rattling beneath the surface. She tried hard to keep it together, but he was sitting there ripping apart everything she thought was worth returning to when this was all over.

And it just hurt. The way his voice breaks in and out during parts, the way his eyes water, the hurt displayed in his body language. He was fed up being the only child of a single mom.

"I get it okay?" Emma sniffled, gripping the steering wheel and staring straight forward, her knuckles white and vision blurry. "I know what it's like to want a big family, I grew up wanting one, I dreamt of one, of my dad walking me down the aisle, of having a brother or sister who thought I was important just because I was older. I dreamt of my mom making my costumes from scratch and staying up all night baking cookies for a school thing. I get it. I just can't give you it. Do you want to stay and find a new family in Storybrooke that can? You want me to just let Killian take you, since you seem so much more comfortable confiding in him?"

"Mom." Henry sighed with irritation, rubbing his forehead and shaking his head. "He doesn't treat me like a child, staring at me and waiting for me to just crack. He was relating to me, like we were equals and I could talk to him because he understood. He wasn't going to just coddle me. You were so upset when you told me about my dad, I didn't want to only make it worse. You want, you need me to be sad and I'm not sad. I'm angry and confused but I'm not freaking sad."

"I want you to be you." Emma whimpered, tears cascading down her jaw, sliding along her neck. "I'm sorry I made you think you had to act any certain way. I don't know what to tell you, I don't know how to make you not angry."

"That's the problem, you weren't even listening to Killian last night. I'm allowed to be angry and no one should make me not be angry." Henry threw his head in his hands, stroking and tugging at the roots of his brown hair. "This is why it can't just be us, because I hate that I'm making you cry over this, I don't want you to cry because i'm not feeling what you want. I always have to hold it in and pretend to keep you from struggling to do the same."

"I'm not good at being a mother, I was never cut out for it. I'm sorry." Emma broke into sobs, despite how badly she needed to pull it back in for Henry.

"You've been my mom this whole time?" Henry cried, the frustration finally breaking him. "And you're great at it. I just think we need more than 'you and me against the world, kid.' The world is obviously dangerous, I just left my dad's funeral because he was murdered, I don't trust myself to be able to keep you any safer that he was."

"You don't have to keep me safe, Henry." Emma sighed. She reached out, wiping his tears from his cold cheeks.

"Then what's to keep you from dying too?" Now both of her children were terrified of losing their parents.

"My destiny to be there for you." Emma smiled, pulling something from that conversation to prove she was listening. "I love you so much Henry, I would do anything for you, even if that includes dying for you." She could see him tensing, ready to combat but she continued. "But I am going to fight like hell to make sure that doesn't ever happen because I never ever want to leave you alone in this world."

"I love you too Mom. I'm sorry." He managed to calm himself down in record time. Just deep breaths and drying tears but he was back to normal. "I'm sorry that talking to Killian made you feel inadequate. You are and will always be my mom, my best friend. I just want Killian and Lily to be around. I know you talk to him when you're scared, or sad. I saw how easily you let him comfort you yesterday. You wouldn't let me do that. I know Lily makes you happy too. I'm not saying marry him tomorrow, but please promise me that you won't just run away from happiness because you've been hurt."

"I promise you that one day in the future, I will allow myself to be really happy." Emma beamed at him through her own drying tears. "As long as you are just as happy as me."

"Deal."

XXXXXXXXXXX

The diner was a different atmosphere than most days. Lily knew most of the town wasn't well acclimated with Neal. Walking around she noticed half of them were only there for the free food the wake provided and the camaraderie the citizens were use to. They showed their support of course, treaded lightly around the grieving, but they weren't actually grieving themselves.

Emma however was. Lily watched from the booth, her mother threw darts with a fierce edge that left her concerned. She didn't have words to heal the hurt, she didn't have anything to heal the hurt. She was supposed to prevent the hurt and that's not what happened so now she plans on staying clear of all those hurting. Except Henry.

She floated toward Henry like a cloud looking to strike thunder. As soon as she found her brother, two booths behind her, watching the same blonde channel her angrier side, she descended. She collided with him instantly, sliding into the booth and straight into his side.

"Hey." She nudged her shoulder into his. "Your mom has a mean right arm."

"Yeah." he agreed distantly. She was ready to give up the prospect of conversation, just sit in silence and let him stir. She had no clue he was stirring over her.

"Lily, you saw him die, because you see things?" Henry didn't meet her eyes, just stared straight on at Emma, but she was sure he was seething over it.

This happened to be Lily's worst fear, her brother hating her for failing. So she froze. Every atom she's made up of just froze.

Then all at once, like an ice sculpture, she shattered. Her chest heaving, her eyes burning, her lungs collapsing.

"Hey." Henry whispered, wrapping his arm around her and trying to calm her with hushing breaths. "Calm down, Kid, it's not that serious."

"How is it not that serious?" She shrieked, earning her attentions of half the diner. Everyone but Emma and Killian who were having their own conversation by the darts. Henry was quick to dismiss everyone's eyes.

"She's alright." He assured the patrons. "Don't mind us." So they hesitantly turned back around, Regina's eyes lingering longer that anyone's before she continued on with her conversation she was having with Tinkerbelle, at the bar.

"Henry, I… I tried to save him." Lily confessed, using all of her energy not to cry because it's not her father's funeral, _yet _and she has no right to be the one crying. "I tried to use my magic, I tried so hard."

"That's why you were there, when he died, because you tried to save him?"

"It just wouldn't work, it just would not work." She rubbed her hands vigorously against her tights, the scorching sizzle resurfacing in her palms. The thin fabric of her tights began to shrivel under the heat. It wasn't until she burned her own thighs, she stopped rubbing, letting out a pained whine.

"Lily?" Henry pulled her wrists into his hands, staring at her fearfully, like she were a monster, only capable of damage, not capable of the good necessary to save someone's life. "Please calm down, my mom wants you to control this, please, she's afraid these people, these murderers will still you away if they find out."

"I'm sorry." She cried softly, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Henry, please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, you're not responsible for saving the lives of anyone. You're just a kid." He carefully placed his palms over hers. Lily wanted to tug away but he held on tight, his shoulder tensing under her cheek. She pulled her head back, watching his eyes for any sign of insanity, why would he hold onto her, allowing her to hurt him. "I trust you." He whispered, staring directly into her eyes. "Control it, like you did the wind the other night. Control it, like you did the fire in your hands. I trust you."

She nodded, finding the trust he was lending her through a deep gaze. The burning sensation slowly formed into a glowing, healing light. The one she needed for Neal but just couldn't provide. When Henry released her palms from his, he turned his up for her to see. The skin was smooth as ever, healthy and clear.

"You're better than the control your emotions have over you right now." He promised, swiping away tears with his thumbs like her Henry has often done in their future. "You know that."

"I don't know much of anything anymore." She admitted shamefully. "One moment you think you're something precious, special and rare, the next you find out you're nothing more than a pawn, a mindless drone with poor instincts and the uncanny ability to burn everything you touch to ashes."

"So you're a little dramatic." Henry snickered, "You're still rare. I've never met anyone else like you. Not just your magic, but your entire being." Henry praised. "You are very special to me."

"And you are to me." Lily promised. "Very very special." Henry grinned at her for a moment before his eyes shifted behind her. She turned to find them following the movements of her father. He walked toward the booth with determination before sliding across from them.

"Dad?"

"Are you alright, Killian?" Henry asked focusing intently on his entire demeanor.

"Lad, you'll have to stop asking me that." Killian's lips tilted upward, a charming smirk on the rise. His eyes found Lily's next. "Lilylove, Belle wishes to speak with you, she's just beyond the bar, discussing something with Ruby. Will you find her?"

"Yes, but I want to know what you're up to." Lily countered, still weary of letting him leave her sight for too long.

"You won't appreciate this, being that you are committed to remaining attached to my side, but I wish to take Henry out sailing right now." Killian returned his gaze to her brother, the smile much larger than before. "If you're interested. The two of us could talk more, or I could simply teach you about the stars and seven seas."

"My mom doesn't feel bad about it?"

"No, she seems quite pleased. Still, if you're not willing to leave her, I completely understand."

"No I am, I just don't want her to think that I'm not confiding in her again." He sighed showing his perplexed state through deep breaths. "If she's alright with it, than I'd love to go."

"And I?" Lily asked meekly. "I'm supposed to just trust you to be away at sea for hours without cellular service?"

"Darling, I can assure you, I'm the one capable of protecting myself." He was so sure of himself, so arrogant, but he has a hand and a hook, Lily has magic. White magic that witches like Zelena can't touch. "Lillian, please, don't worry your beautiful crown over Henry or myself. Go speak with Belle, she's in much more need of protection that either of us."

Only because he had a point did she rise from the booth. Not before placing a protective kiss on Henry's cheek and urging him to keep his eyes open. Then she moved around the booth, bidding a sweet and long goodbye to her father. By the time she reached the back of the bar, the bell had already chimed, signaling their leave.

Lily stayed quiet and respectful as Ruby and Belle finished their conversation. She was preoccupied conversing with herself in silence. She figured she could relax on her father. It was obvious that he made it to the future she was from. It was when she got back there that she should be fearful of. All thoughts were of what the future would hold the very moment she returned. Her mind was so focused on the future, she removed herself from the present. She had no idea what was going on in the diner until a smashing glass on the tile by her feet.

"Lily?" Belle moved rapidly to check the child's person for injury. She came across the burns on the thighs too quickly for Lily to hide. "Lillian, what is this?" Lily met Belle's concerned eyes with shameful ones of her own.

"It's alright. I can heal it." Lily explained, ignoring the second chime of the bell as she waved her hands over her thighs, allowing the glow to heal and recover. She even managed to fix her tights when a less-appealing accented voice rang about her head.

"My my, what do we have here?" Lily gazed up to find Zelena, in all her wicked glory. _This is exactly what mom was afraid of. _

"Lily? Lillian, where are you?" Her mother's panic was evident as she raced behind the bar from the other end, finding Lily face to face with Zelena. Lily gulped, praying she could reign in every ounce of self-control. "Zelena!" Emma growled, "GET AWAY FROM HER."

Emma raced down the narrow aisle behind the counter when Zelena froze her in place.

"My my, little witch in all her glory, so much power in such a small form. You'd do nicely as an… apprentice." Zelena snickered.

"Lady, you're way off base." Lily snarled. "Unfreeze her and leave." She demanded, just strongly enough to amuse the woman. Another snicker, another reason to vomit in Lily's case.

"No one commands me, Doll." Zelena's grin was pure filth as she hooked a crooked finger under Lily's chin, holding her face toward the light. "You're so powerful, but so foolish to put your faith in the weak."

"Are you calling my mom weak?" Lily ripped her chin from the witch in an instant, shoving her back, Zelena's back smashing into the counter. She let out a frustrated gruff before surging back forward, her hand around Lily's throat this time.

"Big mistake Dearie. I'll crush you like the little ladybug you are." Something about the use of that word 'dearie' made Lily's skin crawl with rage. She channeled all of her light magic, burning Zelena's gloved hand from her throat.

"You came here for a reason, act on it and leave before I show you how I treat bugs." Lily threatened. "And I can promise you, Zelena, you couldn't crush me on your best day." Zelena's eyes changed with recognition. Lily knew how much good she contained and Zelena is not capable of defeating white magic. Zelena unfroze Emma as she moved away from Lily, a dark scowl staining her face.

"I want to watch your reaction, dear." The witch spoke to Emma, as if Lily's threat had no effect. Lily knew otherwise. Gold told her otherwise many times.

Before Lily could breathe a sigh of relief, Emma was squeezing the life out of her. "I will never let her touch you again, I swear on my life, Lily"

"Mommy, shh." Lily cooed, running her tiny fingers through her blonde hair. "It's alright."

"It's not alright." Emma's chest was lifting Lily's with every heave, the heartbeat within shaking Lily's along with it.

"Mama, please. I'm okay." She promised, wishing she could heal fears, hearts and emotions not just scrapes and burns. Still, Emma wasn't ready to let her go. So Lily stayed within Emma's embrace until long after Zelena had gone, missing the entire exchange between her and Regina.

When the diner cleared out leaving only the 'scooby gang' behind, Emma finally released Lily. Lily held tight to Emma's hands waiting for her mother to meet her eyes. When she finally did, Lily wasn't prepared for what she saw.

Anger.

"Lily, please, I begged you to be more careful with your magic." Emma scolded. "I begged you not to use it freely. Not because it's bad, but because people like her are. Anything could have happened to you, do you have any idea what it's like to watch a monster attack my child?"

"She didn't attack me, Mama." Lily replied. "I'm just fine."

"Lillian." Emma persisted with her 'general' tone, not accepting that as an adequate admission of guilt.

"I'm sorry, I should not have done it. I didn't think twice, my legs were burnt and I ju—"

"Burnt?" Emma shrieked

"Emma?"_ Saved by the Belle_.

"I'm kind of busy right now." Emma replied a bit too unfriendly for Lily's liking. This was her godmother after all not some stranger on the street.

"Mom?" Lily stared at her with discontent.

"I'm sorry, Belle, I'm just really overwhelmed right now."

"I know, and I was paying attention to the deliberation." Belle smiled despite the rudeness she was just subjected to. "I think that Lily is meant to come with me, we'll put a protective wall over the pawn shop, blocking out anything evil or dark. She'll be safe, Regina instructed me to use the chalk, not Lily's magic." Lily nodded in agreement, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck and kissing her goodbye before she could decline the suggestion. Emma watched silently as Lily and Belle took off.

XXXXXXXXXX

Her feet dangle over the side of the glass display case. Beneath her are many things belonging to many people, yet they all find themselves here.

It makes her think of the people she belongs to and how Gold has no right to claim her as his puppet, his flunky, his little errand girl traveling through time to do his bidding. She's not one of these things in a case, she's someone's child, her father's daughter.

And she _loves_ her father.

_love is a weapon_

She should be the strongest weapon in existence. And he knew that. And that's what rubs her the wrong way, rubs her the worst way, rubs her until she's raw and used up on the floor. She was someone's daughter, someone who knew better, but did as she wished and allowed her to be under this villain's watch because she so wished. She wished so badly to be the best she could be.

And Gold, that con, made her feel she was. The praise was never-ending. '_Better than Regina, than Zelena, than Cora my precious girl_' and she's never believed magic to be a competition, but she wanted to be stronger than any villain to threaten this town, her home, her family… Her father.

"Lily?" Belle's patient and loving voice broke through what was the wall of Lily's thick and devastating emotions. She quickly turned her head to the librarian turned pawn-shop owner.

"Honey, did you hear me call you?" Belle moved closer, almost reaching out to touch Lily but she instinctually flinched out of reach. "Is this about Neal?" Belle attempted again to come in contact with Lily. This time she successfully wiped away tears Lily had no clue she ever shed.

"What?" Lily sniffled, bowing her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, you needed me for something?"

Belle sighed before taking a seat on the counter next to her goddaughter. "Right now I think you need me for something. Want to tell me what's bothering you so badly?"

"Not particularly" Lily answered with yet another sniffle. She hesitantly met Belle's eyes to see she wasn't budging. "It's like you said" Lily caved "do the brave thing, bravery follows. My parents are so darn brave. They passed none to me. I'm cowardly, so much so I try to pretend I'm the most fearless thing to walk the earth because I'm even terrified of what would happen if they found out just how cowardly I was."

"You are fearless, you are brave and brilliant. You know that, Lillian I know you know that. You run into battles." Belle tried to convince her, but Lily didn't need convincing.

"I'm not afraid of things that go bump in the night. I'm afraid of living without love, without my family and love." Lily explained "I could kill an army of ogres, but going one day without my dad is the hardest thing I could think of doing."

"Well you don't have to worry, he's not going anywhere." Belle reassured but it fell on deaf ears.

Lily knew otherwise. She knew Gold holds strong to deals. Even the deals a child like herself never signed or shook on. Deals that don't actually get drawn up.

It wasn't a deal so much as a threat. The threat to end all threats.

"Belle, he's going to kill my father." Lily whimpered. "He's going to take him from me like Henry's was taken from him." The struggle to keep her sobs at bay long enough to explain was a battle Lily was quickly losing.

"Who?"

"Who do you think?" And she didn't mean to sound so angry, she didn't want to tell Belle that her future husband was a snake in the grass. "Gold. This whole thing, he thought it out the moment he learned of my conception. He spun a string of lies stretching eight years and now I'm here."

"I want the whole truth right now Lillian. No beating around the bush, what did he do to you?" She's seen Belle this angry one other time. Since then, she's been all smiles and sweet sentiments. The time for those had quickly faded as soon as Lily mentioned Gold.

"He mentors me. Despite my father's wishes. He teaches me magic, spells not even Regina knows. I thought he loved me. He'd swear he loved me, and despite their past, I believed I loved him too."

"That's all very sweet, but it sounds like you thought wrong." She could tell Belle was eager to get to the bottom of it.

"He used me, forced this god awful power of premonition into me and now I know things I never wanted to know." Lily cringed at the long list of things that flashed through her mind she'd rather burn holes through than witness. "Now I'm cursed with foresight and all I can see is his face last week promising to kill my father if I don't succeed in saving Henry's."

"He sent you back here to save Neal?" Belle's tone was even, like her grandmother's whenever her uncle was getting scolded. Always level, never loud but the anger was detectable.

"I thought I was doing the heroic thing, the brave thing, Belle. I really did but now I know I was foolish. He was so nice. Always nice, never mean, never lost his temper, never made me feel unwelcome. He was so gosh darn nice, Belle, I thought it meant he found his goodness. I thought he found goodness in me." Lily hurriedly rid her face of the fresh tears falling upon it. "The goodness within that man died yesterday, but he abandoned it centuries ago."

"Lillian," Belle sighed, wrapping her arms around her goddaughter. "You're not foolish to think there's goodness in people, you're foolish to forget the goodness you come from. You should have told your parents, Sweetheart, you should have told someone."

"He bid me not to." Lily whined in defense.

"You're not to do a single soul's bidding, Lillian." Lily was certain she would just die if one more person told her that. "Your father would have moved the moon to your bedroom window if you so wished, you believe he wouldn't have found a way to stop him?"

Of course she believes he would have tried. He would have done anything for her and now he'll die for her mistakes.

She hears a voice at times, when she's being dishonest or secretive. Sometimes when she doesn't do a spell right, or she sees him cringe when she hugs Gold goodbye after a lesson. She hears the voice loud and clear and it starts in her toes and rises.

_You don__'__t deserve him. He__'__s too good for you. _

There have been times when she watches the way he splits attention between she and Henry during conversations at the dinner table, when Henry's home on break. She wants to tell herself to just shut up and let Henry have her father because they deserve each other, they are all goodness and consideration and maybe no one needs to hear about her stupid lessons with Gold. Maybe her brother's absence in her father's day to day life is much more concerning that the evil hands gripping her throat at this very moment. It was that night, the night she knew she'd sneak away once all the breaths have deepened and all the floorboards stop creaking, that night was the night she realized if she did fail, Henry wouldn't lose one father, but two.

She knew then if she told him he'd drop everything, they both would. She knows though, it's a battle he can't win, it's a war he would finally lose. And the worst part of losing battles and losing your life is he wouldn't be the one completely lost in this world, she would.

The voice was pounding at the doors of her mind that night, mingling with another's. _I__'__ll take him from you._

"Oh, my Lillian." Belle exhaled. "I want for you so badly to find your way before you return to the future. I want so badly to help you but you have to be willing to help yourself and here I see that you've completely given up hope, convinced that your father will die and this villain will win."

"If you promise me one thing," Lily countered, awaiting the slow nod Belle gave. "You must go through with your life forgetting what I told you tonight. Your destiny is to become his wife and I can't mess up destiny. You're the only thing that prolongs the destruction he seeks."

"You sound more like a prophet than a child." Belle frowned. "I do wish you could just be a child, Lillian."

"The time for childhood had passed the moment I laid myself over his dead body." Lily spoke so heartlessly, reliving what it was like to be numb in that moment. "I don't ever get to go back to being a kid again." Belle stared at Lily full of sorrow and grief. Tears stumbled down her full cheeks, but she didn't blink. She was looking for something Lily wasn't sure she still contained. _Hope. _

"Sweetheart, the time for you to be a child is now. You and I, we're gonna go play pretend." Belle lifted Lily from the counter, carrying her to the backroom. "Come, tell me one of your stories."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The shop is dimmer than Emma's ever seen it. It's never produced much light to begin with when the only windows are two feet from the ceiling and the entire space is cluttered with other people's belongings.

The floor is something of a mess, books scattered everywhere, the counters covered in items of times long ago, when a curse was out to steal their world, only the most meaningful of things ended up in this shop. Surely something that will help them later on to stop this Wicked Witch.

This witch, who decided to wreak havoc just hours after they've buried a loved one. There was evil, sure as hell there was evil, but even Regina at her most devious allowed the weeping to rest. This woman wasn't just evil, she was… she was not going to say 'wicked' she was meaning to say psychotic.

And this psychotic witch came for her daughter. She wanted to steal her away and Emma was paralyzed, only to watch yet another person she loved be taken from her.

She thought she was strong, but Lily is titanium and gold, the bravest little girl she's come to know. She hugs you with her soft arms, and you feel like you're embraced by Hercules, safe and protected from the demons that haunt you. She stands in the face of danger, stands proud and fearless.

But from the sound of Lily's nasally voice luring Emma toward the backroom, it seems she's got quite a bit of demons of her own. That's when Emma walks in on them. Concern and compassion flood her senses when she sees them, concern, compassion and that reoccurring jealousy she can't shake when Belle is around her daughter.

She's wrapped in the bookworm's arms, resting nuzzled in her lap and sighing deeply after each sentence like she just had another anxiety attack.

"Hey," Emma whispers, Lily the first to look up, and even more quickly, the first to look away, hiding her tear-stained cheeks. When has she ever been afraid to cry in front if Emma?

"Mama" she sighed and sniffled. "I didn't realize the time. I'm sorry. If you want to wait for me I'll be right out."

"No running hug?" Emma joked unsuccessfully.

"No." Lily whispered, catching a frog in her throat. "Just give us a second."

"No." Belle declined, pressing Lily up to her feet so Belle could stand beside her. Lily kept her face hidden, fidgeting with the flowers of her dress. "Lillian, you said you'd be brave."

"Right now?" Lily gasped. "No… No Belle, don't."

"I don't want to be the one to tell her, it's something that should come from you, Sweetheart."

"What?" Emma interrupted, irritated that Belle knows something that Emma doesn't regarding _her _daughter. "What's wrong, Baby?"

"Let's go. I'll tell you on the walk back to the inn." Lily surrendered. She turned to face Belle, her shoulders shaking as she stood in front of her. "Goodnight Belle."

"Goodnight, Lillian. Do yourself a favor, Sweetheart, please." Lily nodded quickly, wrapping her arms around Belle for just a moment before walking past Emma toward the main showroom.

Emma felt something deeper than rejection, but she gritted it down long enough to look Belle in the eyes and thank her for keeping her daughter. It took all she had not to flip out over the idea of yet again coming in last when it came to her children confiding in someone.

"MOM!" Lily shouted from the front door, breaking Emma from her mental rampage. Emma stalked out and met Lily, guiding her into the cold night.

They were walking all of twelve steps before Emma broke, unable to be patient when she felt the sharp point of rejection grazing her spine.

"What the hell is going on Lily?" Emma combusted in a loud cry. "What does Belle know that I can't? Why? Why aren't we… I know what I did but… Baby, please let me help." Lily held her eyes to the gravel rocking back and forth on her heels. A still second ticked on, Lily's mouth opening and closing a few times before a sob ripped from her throat.

"Mommy, you're just gonna hate me, I know it…"


	9. Chapter 7:To Have Faith is to Have Wings

A/N: I can't thank everyone enough for favs, follows and reviews. I appreciate every single one. I really do love the story I'm telling, it's something I've been working on since the summer hiatus and finally found the courage to improve and post it, and I can't tell you how glad I am that it's been so well received. Thank you!

I quoted '_The Little White Bird' _by J.M Barrie and I wanted to be sure I explained how much I don't own it, but really appreciate it anyhow. I also **Do not own nor am affiliated with OUAT. **I am however living through these 28 days on a flippin' prayer because God, do I need my CS back in my life!

Thanks again for reading!

_**Chapter 7: To Have Faith is to Have Wings**_

"_Mommy, you're just gonna hate me, I know it…"_

"Are you insane?" Emma whispered softly before pulling Lily to a nearby bench and setting her down. "Baby there is nothing you can do to make me hate you."

Emma watched Lily shiver like a scared lap dog and racked her brain for any possible reason she would be this afraid of her. All the crappy parenting decisions she's made since meeting her quickly surfaced There's a number of reasons Lily wouldn't think Emma would be understanding, that she would assume her love is conditional. That's the last thing Emma wants.

"Is this about me yelling at you over using your magic?" Emma asked timidly, afraid Lily would nod and tear into her about how terrible this version of her is and how much she'd rather be with her real mom.

"No, I understand that." Lily answered hesitantly, keeping her eyes on the wet pavement before them. Only in Storybrooke do the streets always glisten at night.

"Then what is it?" Emma persisted. "Is it still Neal, because Killian meant what he said, I did too, that's just how things are Lily, I promise you don't have to feel obligated to save anyone, you're a child and fate works the way it wants."

"You don't believe in fate." Lily mumbled to the crisp cool air in front of them.

She's right. Emma Swan did not believe in fate. She couldn't believe things were just supposed to happen. She refused to believe that there were higher powers that had their lives all planned out from the beginning of time.

She believed in actions, cause and effect. She believed that a butterfly flapping it's wings would cause a tidal wave around the world, easily before she could ever allow herself to believe in fate.

Until a child with dark hair and green eyes appeared displaying magic provided by the love her parents shared. It's kind of hard to argue with 'True Love' when the proof is burning holes in your heart every time she cries.

Now she believes there has to be something more to it than sheer coincidence if a pirate born four lifetimes ago can appear in your own life and steal your breath every other moment he's around. Still no John Cusack movie about serendipitous happenings is going to make her stop fighting to protect her heart, she has decided, however, to stop fighting fate and allow things to happen.

"I do now." Emma replied. "I believe that something out of my reach guided you from heaven down to my life. I believe that you're a blessing I don't deserve and it's not karma points that sent you to me, it's fate."

"Would you still believe that if you knew that my dad is going to die because of me?" Lily huffed violently. "Would you still call this little girl who can't get her crap together a blessing?"

"What?" Emma wrapped her arms around Lily, pulling her into her lap and guiding her eyes to meet her own. "Please talk to me. Lily, please." Emma pleaded.

"He loves you so much, and you're just as crazy about him." Lily tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, moving her eyes across Emma's face. "And I've only thought about how terrible for me it will be to lose him. Not once did I think about how absolutely devastated you'll be."

"Yes, I'll be devastated." Emma confessed, wanting to appear as vulnerable as she could to prove to Lily that it was okay for her to be too. "So talk to me about it, Lily, tell me what's going on and I'll stop it, Lily."

"Do you think you're strong enough to stop the devil himself? " Lily's thumb grazed Emma's cheek, sliding down her jawline and pausing at her dimpled chin. "Do you think I am?"

"Gold?" Emma knew, there's only one devil in this town and it's that man, no matter how much he sacrifices, he'll always be the snake who created the dark curse to begin with.

"He teaches me. Taught me, I'm as sure as my name is Lillian Jones, I will never attend another lesson with him." Lily vowed. "I don't know if I can retell this story again. I just stopped crying a moment ago."

She wasn't sure how to react. Emma wanted to just pull it out of her, needed to know what Gold did to her and how to stop it. Her nerves were prickling at her cold, damp flesh. She was burning on empty after the events of Today and she's trying, really trying but if Lily doesn't spill soon, Emma might lose it.

"Baby, please. You can give me the shorthand and if I get confused, I'll ask questions okay?" Lily pondered for a moment before nodding.

"Shorthand, let's see." Lily sucked in a large breath before beginning. "Gold guilted me into traveling back here to save Neal because Henry apparently came to him in tears begging for it and he knew i'd do anything for my brother, so I agreed, then the night before he forces his power of foresight into my hands, he gives me a special wand, one that can recreate any magic done to or by the wielder. It was used on both my parents before, so it allowed me to and here I am. Terrified because I failed, and he promised me after I refused to go at the last moment that he'd kill my dad if I didn't save Henry's." Lily let out a breath, chest heaving as she rubbed her hands down Emma's face, softly, eyes tearful and wide.

"Lily?"

"Mom, I should have known better, I know better now, I do. Don't put your faith in a man who's done so much damage to your lineage. A man who built a curse to get to his son centuries later does not have your brother's best interest in mind. I know that. I promise." Emma was surprised at how well Lily held herself together. She knows her daughter is eight and dramatic but right now she seems so calm and gentle, despite the glisten in her eyes, her lips don't tremble and her body stopped shaking minutes ago.

Emma on the other hand had wars raging between her ribs. Her heart was fragmenting just so the fragments could break because there was so damn much to be heartbroken over. Lily's innocent little world has been pillaged and burned. She sees death whenever she closes her eyes and not even the idea of going home eases her. Killian is sentenced to death because Gold's guilt decided to flare once more and couldn't allow his son to die a hero, but instead live under the parental eye of a coward. She couldn't think about what life would be like without Killian. She wouldn't allow any of her heart to feel that for a second.

Then there's the idea that Henry is miserable nine years later. So miserable he would request the help of his sinister grandfather. Emma's conversation with him that afternoon made her feel like he would be more than happy to have Killian, and she can't go off what Gold told Lily to get her to do his bidding. Yet, there's that still small voice that whispers 'he's not my real dad.' That doesn't hurt her nearly as much as the grim look she can visualize on Killian's face hearing this.

_Because he has to hear about this._

She knows it will break him. She's not prepared to see the storm whirl in his eyes or hear the hoarse sob he'll try desperately to swallow for her sake. She doesn't want this to keep him up at night, to shatter his dreams. Not the way it's shattered hers. She's finally allowed herself to believe this will all work out for the best, that they'll finally find a family within each other, one they can't lose if they wanted to because fate wants them together.

Now she knows fate only wants to hurt her.

"Mama?" Lily whispered, pressing her forehead against Emma's. "Say something. Your eyes are just darting about and your mouth keeps opening but nothing comes out." Emma hadn't recognized how the seconds stretched on since she last spoke.

"I'm so sorry Lily." Emma breathed. Lily lifted her head to stare directly into Emma's watering eyes.

"It's my fault, not yours." She denied, appearing baffled by the statement.

"No, it's our fault as parents. We trusted him, God only nows how Killian trusted him, but he did and I did and now you're here because you trusted him too." Emma whimpered, taking her turn now to stroke Lily's full cheeks, strong family jawline and dark, loosely braided hair.

"Dad never trusted him." Lily pulled out of Emma's embrace, reclaiming the seat beside her once more. "You barely did, but Regina convinced you that you didn't need to trust him, you needed to have him teach me and that was all. She said 'trust your daughter, she's got her father's head on her shoulders.'" Lily frowned. "That lady never leaves a cheap shot on the table, I'll tell you, but she wrongfully believed that my instincts wouldn't allow me to be tricked."

"I will listen to every word out of your mouth, but you have got to stop beating yourself up." Emma expressed desperately. "Lily you are not a failure and every time you say it, you make me want to just… just…" _Cry. _Emma couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears traveled down her cheeks for the third time Today.

"Mama, I'm sorry." Lily wrapped her arms tightly around Emma's waist, burying her face in her wool coat. "Please don't cry anymore"

"No more badmouthing yourself, you hear me, I can't listen to you tear yourself apart Lily. Please."

"Okay," Lily mumbled into the material. "Just no more tears."

"I'm trying." Emma sighed, pulling out the last bit of strength she had. The breeze now picking up helped to dry her tears, but chill her bones in the process. It wasn't until she looked down at her daughter burrowing deeper in her embrace she realized Lily was jacket-less in this cold night air. Emma released her to take off her jacket when Lily stalled her hands.

"If you allow me, Mom, I can magic my own." Emma was sure this kid would have had it with magic after everything but there she was, ready and willing to embrace everything Emma would love to just leave behind.

Before Lily. She would have loved to leave it all behind before Lily, but now she knows she never will.

"Sure." Emma sighed, not really willing to draw Zelena's creepy collector attention but fearful of what it will do to her if she denies her anything. She watched as Lily waved her confident hand across her torso, a white light engulfing but quickly faded to reveal a black princess coat with big, silver, anchor-etched buttons. "Do you use your magic openly in the future?" Emma asked, hinted with concern.

"No." Lily let out a humorless laugh. "Gold always says 'All magic comes with a price, Dearie." She mocked in his accent before making eye contact with Emma. "I asked him one day, what's the price, I'm eight and don't really have a savings going on. He smiled, creepily and said 'Having a normal life.'"

That was the truest statement ever made in Emma's presence. There was no such thing as normal if you're a magical being. Lily hadn't known the difference but Emma had. She had a normal life in New York. Sure, her boyfriend was a flying monkey from Oz, but everything else was extremely normal. Lily would grow up believing her life was normal, when it wasn't.

"So I said to him 'who wants to be ordinary?' and he stayed silent for a moment and I knew he was thinking of Neal." Lily shook her head. "He told me that some people would rather live in a world without magic, then live a life constantly disturbed by evil vs good mumbo jumbo. Sometimes, I think you and he and Henry would have been happy together, away from this world. Sometimes I would sit and think, what if I could save you from the sacrifice, give you what you really wanted, that normal life?" Lily looked down at her legs, inhaling deeply before finishing. "Then I had a chance to and I failed. That's something I'll have to live with. That's what magic does to you, it makes you think you're strong enough, powerful enough, then laughs in your face when it doesn't work how you think it ought to. That's the price of magic."

Emma was done battling over Lily's desperate need to self-loath. She could beg her to stop, or she could show her there's no reason to do it at all.

"I don't believe Gold one moment when he says all magic comes with a price." Emma stretched her arm back around Lily, pulling her back into the safety of her embrace. "You see, I think of when I used magic those few times last year, it was all white and I hadn't paid for a thing. I saved your dad in the Echo Cave. No price. I deflected Cora's attempt at stealing my heart, no price. I woke Henry with true love's kiss, no price. I think dark magic comes with a price, something you have to sacrifice, but good magic? All I have had to deal with was realizing just how much love I have for the people I saved."

"You included my dad in there." Lily bit her bottom lip to cover the obvious excitement plumping her cheeks. "He's someone you love."

"You missed the point, kid." Emma rolled her eyes, playfully. "Will you pick up on this philosophical development I'm giving you?. You are all white magic and love. You'll never pay a price for any of the good you do. The universe owes you, Baby girl. And I owe the universe for you."

"I love you." Lily pressed her palm to Emma's heart, watching her fingers splay out over it. "I'll be honest, I don't feel okay, but I feel safe with you on my side." Lily blinked rapidly before gazing up to study Emma's face. "You're brilliant Mom. You're beautiful and smart and brilliant. I trust the good in you."

"And I trust the good in you, Lily. I love you and I trust the good in you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had been sitting in Emma's room at the Inn for about an hour waiting on Killian and Henry to come home. Lily had fallen asleep on Emma's bed, Emma mindlessly running her fingers through Lily's loose waves as she reread one of the books. Henry really did take an interest in all things Peter Pan. He even borrowed _The Little White Bird. _One line in particular stuck out to Emma. One line that made things fall into perspective.

"_The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings_."

"To have faith is to have wings" Emma read aloud to herself.

It's no coincidence that her mother, the ambassador of hope, can speak to birds. She read poems in Sophomore English before high school got in the way of her thieving lifestyle. "_Hope" __is the thing with feathers. _How many people can be wrong? Maybe she'd be happier if she gave herself that chance. Maybe she'd be better off believing in something, maybe it'd help her believe in herself.

Before she had anymore time to ponder, there was a knock at the door. _Finally. _

Emma closed the book, setting it on the middle end table before gently sliding out of bed, trying her hardest not to wake the sleeping princess beside her. She reached the door in seconds, eager to see Henry after the long day and anxious to speak with Killian over what the day contained.

"Mom?" Henry wrapped his arms around her torso, nearly barreling through her as she stumbled back from the impact. "It's good to see you. We had so much fun." He released her, revealing some knotted rope in his hand. "Killian says we could go on the boat again sometime."

"Anytime." Killian added softly.

"You should come. You and Lily." Henry grinned brighter than he had since his father's passing.

"Speaking of Lily, she's asleep so shhh, alright?" Emma whispered with a finger pressed to her lips. Henry nodded in understanding, turning to hug Killian in thanks before moving into the room.

There was a moment of silence and stares. She studied his face for any indication that he was already disturbed and didn't need more in his life right now. Any sign providing her with an adequate reason not to talk about Lily's confession Tonight.

She could tell he was staring for similar reasons. She quickly closed the door behind Henry and returned to him, ready to spill when he spoke first.

"How did the queen fare against the witch?" Between picking up Lily and finding out everything, she forgot she called him and begged him to stay away because of that damn witch fight.

"She survived, but the rest is definitely more than a doorway conversation." Emma sighed. "I actually need to have a different non-doorway conversation with you."

"What of?"

"Our daughter." Emma sighed uneasily.

"You wish to keep her again, that's perfectly fine Swan, you don't have to—"

"Listen." Emma interrupted. "I'm going to tell Henry I'm walking you back to your room, we need to talk and if I don't tonight, I'll lose my nerve and someone like Belle will step in and tell you before I get a chance."

"Should I say goodnight to her?" He asked warily.

"She's already asleep." Emma frowned apologetically. Watching the disappointment flash through his features, she wasn't quite sure how he'd react to finding out the real reason she came to the past if he's this distraught over a missed 'goodnight.' "Why don't you kiss her anyway? She'll feel it in her subconscious or whatever, maybe soothe her dreams. C'mon."

She opened the door, leading him in quietly to find Henry brushing the hair from Lily's face as she slept soundly. "How was she? Is she doing better?" He whispered, but the concern still detectable.

"She's a really tough kid." Emma evaded. "I'm gonna walk Killian back to his room, alright? I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Alright." Henry rose from his knees and walked over to the chair on the opposite side of his bed, removing his scarf and coat. "I'll stay on nightmare watch until you get back."

"That's very admirable of you." Killian encouraged as he moved across the room to Lily's side. He left a gentle kiss to her temple, whispering words of love and promise before rising. For whatever reason he wasn't willing to linger like he usually did when it came to her. Maybe he sensed the turmoil beneath Emma's surface. "Alright, goodnight Henry." he spoke as he moved back toward the door where Emma had been waiting for him.

"Night, Killian." Henry chirped, sitting on the bed and removing his shoes.

Emma allowed him to move past her before shutting the door behind them, sparing a final glance to her son. There were only about 15 steps between her room and Killian's, so she sealed her lips careful not to spill any secrets until he was in the safety of his own environment.

He had other ideas in mind.

"There's more Bae in him than you realize." Killian mumbled, swiping his thumb across his lip as he stared downward. The hardwood was not that dated to acquire such a tense reaction.

"Yeah?" Emma sighed, not really wanting to talk about Neal with Killian right now. She could think of a million ways this could play against him once the Lily-cat is out of the bag.

"The boy needs to know of his father, I know you had plans on taking him back to New York, Emma but you can't steal him away until he kno—"

"I'm not taking him anywhere. He would fight me tooth and nail at this point." Emma ran a hand through her knotted hair. "Do you not realize how attached he is to Lily?"

"Did you tell him of her visions?" Killian's eyes met hers as they turned the corner. She almost hit the sharp edge of the wall, the way her thoughts cleared at a glimpse of fear. "I mean, we didn't talk much about Lily or you. I wasn't sure if you or she expressed them to him."

"In a way, we both did. She confessed to seeing Neal die in her dreams, and I confirmed that they were premonitions." Emma stopped abruptly, turning to face him dead on. "You studied Gold a lot in the centuries you were planning on killing him, right?"

He didn't answer immediately. He spent a moment studying her with a wariness before nodding hesitantly.

"How does his vision work? I mean, he knew that I was going to be born and break the curse that led him to Neal. Do they blow out his mind too, or what?"

"Too?" Killian jutted the word from between his teeth. The 't' sound echoed on for a moment, a quiet warning of the outburst to follow. "You mean to tell me their foresight is linked? You mean to tell me that they are…what?"

"We're inches away from your room." Emma motioned to keep walking but the reluctancy he followed her with was not what she needed to keep her nerve. If that small irritation were any indication of what was to come when they got behind this door, Emma would much rather Belle tell him.

She had all of two seconds to close the door behind them when he stepped into her space, hitching her breath and clouding her thoughts.

"Well, take your jacket off, relax a bit." Emma huffed out breathlessly. Naturally, more reluctancy followed but he managed to do as she asked without any argument. She moved to sit on his bed, fumbling with the dirt beneath her nails before he joined her. The weight beside her felt natural, but his unsteady breaths and darting eyes was anything but.

"How are they affiliated?" He revisited, calmer than in the hall.

"Lily gave me the shorthand, but basically he teaches her magic in the future." Emma answered with a practiced confidence she didn't actually possess. "Here's the thing, I still can't grasp how anyone could persuade you to let her, but you did."

"You could persuade me, she could even easier. I'd do whatever you wished. You know that." He answered timidly, almost ashamed at how much he easily bent for her.

"Right."

"So, he shared the gift?"

"Shared… not so much, forced is more accurate."

"FORCED!" He jumped from the bed, ready to pace like a madman, or worse actually go after him. She quickly stretched to pull him back down to her.

"It's a longer story than that and I need you here to hear it." Emma decided then that she'd allow herself to give into any urge she had if it would comfort him. So when her fingers itched to stroke his scruffy jaw, she didn't battle herself one bit. Her palm soothed him notably, his chest heaved still, but his breath was not nearly as labored as before.

"I'm trying." He whispered into the quickly diminishing space between them.

"Killian, he made her come here."

"Bae." Apparently he's much quicker on the draw than she, the sound of his voice wasn't shock but confirmation. It's as if he knew it all along.

"Yeah. She came back to save him and now that she hasn't, now that she did nothing wrong but still hasn't, she's afraid Gold will do as he promised."

"She thinks I'm going to die. A father for a father, right? That sick bastard." Killian's knuckles looked as if they'd burst at the seams. She could time his jaw clenches with her heartbeats and if she held her breath and only focused on his, the sound was similar to a dog's low growl. He was seething and rightfully so.

Still, she was going to be there for him. So she wrapped her fingers around his knuckles and pulled his hand to her lap, waiting for his fist to relax against her thigh. She pressed her forehead against his jawline, knowing he wouldn't allow his anger to compromise their interaction. Finally, the palm of her free hand scraped against the hair on his exposed chest, soothing his lungs as best she could.

"This is not your fault anymore than it is hers." Emma whispered against his shoulder. "This is all Gold's fault. Every part of it. He won't get away with any of it."

"He already has. She's tormented by this. The way she clung to me… I knew there was something troubling her but I thought less of it for…"

"For Henry." Emma finished for him. He wouldn't say anything to make Henry seem less to him.

"I needed Today with Henry more than he needed Today with me." Killian confessed so honestly she was caught off guard, raising her head to meet his gaze. "It was selfish of me, but the way I wish to remember Bae is not fighting with him in Neverland like children, but when he was a child on my ship, the ship I would have left to him if only he stayed."

"Killian—"

"I didn't have to say goodbye. He was present in the eagerness of Henry's eyes when I showed him the stars." And that's only reason #187 why Killian Jones will always be a better man than Rumplestilskin. Neal had been dead for nine years and instead of trying to connect with his grandson and find the same light in his eyes, he connected with their daughter and found the same loophole he found in Emma. "I'm sorry, love, I should have mentioned that to you before I took him out. I wasn't as admirable as you gave me credit for."

"You're unbelievable." Emma groaned, turning her eyes from his before she saw the panic. "You really think that what you did wasn't… Killian our sick need to self-loath get's passed down to our daughter. We need to stop making ourselves feel guilty. I can't beg Lily to stop hating herself when I haven't been on speaking terms with part of myself for years." She felt his hand twist and intertwine with her own, squeezing tightly before bringing her skin to his lips.

"I'd help open up lines of communication within you, if only you allow me." He already spoke to every part of her with the simple way his rough hand contrasted with the gentleness he held hers with.

"I think we should communicate a little more about what happened with Lily." She frowned, searching to find his too-blue eyes darkening with each heavy breath he took. It's been a few days since he flirted to avoid the heavy stuff. She forgot how good he was at evasion.

"What's to discuss? I allowed our daughter to dance with the devil himself for heaven only knows how long, and it came back to bite me in the arse. The death sentence is one I deserve. I put her at risk bringing her into a world where such demons resided. We should have moved to that cursed city where magic can't corrupt her."

"You think she's corrupted?"

"I think he's trying. What other purpose has he for a child so powerful? How? How could I?" His voice scraped against it's own vocal chords, like a violin with broken strings playing the saddest song she's ever heard.

"Well he can't have her." Emma replied sternly. "She's ours. And she's stronger now because of what he did. She knows things now. It's a terrible lesson to learn this young, but she knows better to trust anyone over what she feels in her own heart."

"Why did she not trust her heart over him?" Killian asked like he knew the answer, his shoulders tensing to prepare for it.

"Henry." Emma didn't want this part. She wanted to say something else for his sake. She wanted to tell him Belle or herself even. She knows how willing he is to be what Henry needs. He just told her how willing he is. He knows she knows, so she hopes he remembers in the moments that follow. "He told Lily that Henry begged him to." The words scatter out, hoping he heals a bit between each sound.

He doesn't.

"Emma you should go back to the room. It's been minutes, more than promised." He stands slowly, moving toward the Armoire. She wasn't afraid of a breakdown, she was afraid of the build-up. He expertly stacked bricks by the time he reaches the cabinet door, opening it to search for a friend he uses as cement. Emma reaches him before he unscrews the top of the flask, but she can't touch him without her skin buzzing and burning.

"Killian." She calls as if he really is all the miles away he feels to her right now. "Look at me, please." His jaw won't unclench long enough to fit the silver mouth between his lips. His chin trembles a bit, but he holds fast to his resolve. _God_ would she just prefer the breakdown. He wouldn't be alone in this, she wouldn't be leaving him to his own devices.

She raised her hand out once more, inches from his shoulder when she swears she saw a spark.

_Ask yourself: who am I trying to protect?_

Her subconscious wants to save him from demons she can't reach. She wants to heal him and it shows in the way her hands buzz and glow.

"Emma?" He turned then. He must have seen what she saw. "Are you… is that your magic?"

"Heal me, like you did Lily." She whispered, wrapping her hands around his neck and tugging him down to her. He doesn't flinch so she assumes it doesn't hurt as he follows her lead, lips to lips they'll heal each other. His flask fell to the ground with a gentle clang and his arms wrapped around her tightly.

All emotions were present. The desperate need to feel something other than the constant angsty suffering, the hunger to have someone take away all of their thoughts, the eagerness to just get lost. Then all at once, as his tongue tapped against her bottom lip, she felt it all leave her. The guilt and fear she's held onto this past week soared from her mouth as she opened to let him in. His tongue scraping past her teeth, traveling along the curving lines of her own renewed her for the first time since… she can't currently remember how long it'd been since she felt her feet leave the ground, but this was flying.

"Swan!" He gasped, pulling away before she noticed. He slid his fingers through her hair, grasping at the nape of her neck, his other arm tightening more so around her waist. "Are you alright?"

Her mind had been so overrun with the numbing sensation kissing him provided, she didn't realize she was literally flying. Well, hovering. Her feet were about a yard from the ground, thankful for the high, beam-exposed ceilings of Granny's inn, she kept her head from smashing against anything. She glanced from the ground to meet Killian's wonder-filled eyes.

_To have faith is to have wings_

"Yeah." She answered breathlessly, allowing her magic to leave her long enough to set them down. "But I should go."

"Emma, you don't… you don't have to leave every time you kiss me. I won't expect anything more from you, I'll follow your lead, I'll—"

"Shh." She interrupted his rambling, releasing her grip on his neck and shoulder. "We'll talk tomorrow. Do me a favor, focus on the kiss and not the Lily thing." She let her fingers linger long enough to brush his cheek. "And don't beat yourself up. You're a wonderful father." She moved away as quickly as she could before his gaze brought her back to her point of indulgence. He caught her wrist before she made it too far from him.

"And you're a marvelous mother." Something she didn't realize she needed to hear this badly until she felt weights fall from her shoulders and spine. "Emma, you are a bloody marvel in all ways, but your mothering is incomparable."

"You… you believe that? After everything I did?" Searching his eyes for truth only he knows how to tell.

"After everything you did and all the things you're going to do." Killian voiced lowly. "It's evident in the way they love you." Meeting his focus head on, she realized they weren't the only ones evidently in love.

"Thank you." She spoke with shaking knees and a shaky voice to match. "I really do have to go. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

XXXXXXXX

She and Emma were out of the door before seven. She stopped off at the lone coffee shop in Storybrooke, avoiding Granny's completely. '_A Witch's Brew' _was written on each to-go cup they arrived with when they reached the loft. Emma hadn't spoken much about her dad, but Lily had an inkling that he didn't take the news too well. She could only hope that was the last person she had to let in on her stupid secret.

The light shining through the old windows of the loft made everything seem brighter, cleaner, like a fresh new day. The last few days had seemed dim, Lily was hoping this was a sign that things were going to turn around.

Lily was an expert at reading the signs. Her father read the stars like a pro, but the signs were her domain. She could spot a spiritual clue a mile away, a change in the temperature, a formation the leaves made that left her with a lasting impression, and the way a person appears by the light, or lack thereof, surrounding them.

She took the white glow this room took on as a good sign, goodness was in the very air she was inhaling. This was a safe place and she could allow threatening thoughts to rest.

"Why didn't you go to Granny's you were already there?" Mary Margaret asked as she sat down in the arm chair, sipping the tea Emma brought her. _Better for babies, right? _

"We wanted to try something new." Emma explained plainly. "I personally needed something stronger than the 'regular' at Granny's and Lily was eager to chai tea latte it up." Lily nodded encouragingly.

"It's like pumpkin spice. Only it doesn't have to be thanksgiving. It can be Easter or the Fourth of July." Lily added as she sat on the arm of her grandmother's chair. "So, what's the plan, Stan? You guys are gonna build a crib and then we do some baby shopping?"

"Let's just see if they can build the crib first." Mary Margaret let out a mocking laugh.

At least twenty minutes had passed and they hadn't even identified which letters matched which parts. Mary Margaret was growing more and more displeased. Lily swung her jean-clad legs back and forth against the side of the arm chair while her grandmother focused her attentions on braiding her loose waves. A string of swears spilled from Emma's mouth after metal clanged a bit dramatically against the hardwood.

"We could just get Marco to do this." Mary Margaret sighed from behind the little girl. Lily nodded gently, not to disrupt what her grandmother was doing with her hair.

"I could use my magic." Lily sung. "A little wave and it will be constructed." Emma looked up with a stern look, raising a brow at the child.

"I thought we talked about that." Emma warned. Lily sighed and dropped her head. "We're doing this. We have to reserve some sort of normalcy." Before David could audibly agree, Regina came through the door, smacking her hands together in a finished motion.

"And Thanks to me." Regina voiced proudly. "We will. I've successfully finished a protection spell, one that can't be undone by blood magic." Her eyes drifted over to a smiling brunette sitting near a pregnant Snow White. "Lily, what are you wearing." She scoffed. "All those beautiful dresses and you pick that one boyish jacket?" Lily shook her head before dropping from the armchair. She walked slowly to Regina, arms folded before her chest.

"We've had this conversation." Lily pouted. "I wore two dresses this week. We're good."

"Regina, do you think the protection spell will hold?" David rose from the floor where too many parts and no progress lay. He moved toward the table, rubbing Lily's shoulder on the way with a wink. He successfully distracted Regina from yet another attack on Lily's wardrobe.

"Yes, Zelena won't be able to put her hands on that baby." Regina smirked proudly. Lily knew her aunt was best distracted by her own self-worth. Mary Margaret sighed, half-contented.

"Good, any idea why she would want to?" She asked lightly, not light enough to keep the light in the loft from dimming. Darker conversation was on the rise.

"The number of spells involving baby parts would surprise you." Lily's stomach churned at the idea of her future uncle missing a leg because some weirdo witch used it for a spell to stay youthful, or a curse to plague Storybrooke. A shiver ran down her spine as she leaned into David for comfort. "That Greenie's clearly one twisted witch. But as long as we're in here, we're safe." Regina finished on a high note, as if being refined to a small loft was reassuring.

"That's useless." Emma was definitely not reassured. "I think we need to stop playing defense and start taking the fight to her."

Lily keeps overheard pep-talks and rallying the troops in a special part of her mind. She would sneak out of bed at night to listen to her parents and grandparents inspire a crowd or deliberate plans of attack. She would fall asleep those nights dreaming of fighting evil and making a name for herself that wasn't constantly associated with being the savior's daughter.

"Did you not see how I barely outwitted her yesterday?" Regina's temper surfaced. "She has magic, powerful magic." Lily could feel her own magic surfacing just by bringing it up.

"I have magic." Emma's voice was less confident now, which happened a bit too often around Regina, even in the future, she has trouble combatting with the former Evil Queen. "You've seen me use it. I just can't always control it. But if we teamed up, if you taught me…"

"Why does this sound familiar." Regina laughed. Lily bit her bottom lip, wanting to intervene but knowing she shouldn't.

"I'm ready this time." Emma expressed with the upmost seriousness.

"Okay." Regina chuckled. "But if we do this, we do it my way. This isn't drinking stale coffee at a stakeout or whatever you did as a bail bonds person. This is a way of life, you have to fully commit to it." Regina lectured like she had Lily once a week for the past three years. It was always the same spiel. _Lily you__'__re special, but you have to be disciplined, you can__'__t just snap your fingers because you have a craving for ice cream. _Or _Lily you honestly think an ogre is going to wait for you to get mad before he crushes your family? You have to pull strength from thin air, not distant memories of someone teasing you. _

"Not a problem." Emma narrowed her eyes in irritation. Lily couldn't help but smile at how similar they were.

"Meet me at my vault in one hour." Regina fled from the loft without another word.

Lily allowed the adults a moment to stare at each other disapprovingly before she spoke. "Can I go?" Lily used her sweetest voice. She watched her mother stare intently at the tools in her hand, twirling and fidgeting but not answering a simple question. The second stretched and she was about to assume Emma never heard her until…

"Why don't you hang out with Henry and Hook?" Emma suggested, still not making eye contact. "They would be thrilled to take you sailing Today."

"I don't want to go sailing." Lily pouted.

"You always want to go sailing." Emma countered.

"No. I just started sailing a year ago because Dad misses Henry on the water with him. If he and Henry are hanging out Today, I'd rather not impose." Lily dismissed the conversation as quickly as she could.

"Lily?" Emma began with a deep exhale like she was exhausted dealing with her. "You're not impo—"

"I'll just go to the shop with Belle." She groaned defiantly, turning from Emma and sitting down at the kitchen table. She heard another clatter of tools but ignored it, too busy sulking over the idea of how much she'd rather not see her dad right after he found out about Gold. He'll just look at her with guilt and she's really over the 'guilt glare.'

"Fine." Emma stood quickly, walking toward the doorway without even acknowledging her parents, yet she's so quick to feel distraught by her children doing something half as cold. "Let's go."

"Say goodbye to your mom and dad." Lily scowled. "How hurt would you feel if I just did that to you?"

"About as hurt as I already am." Emma mumbled before turning to her parents. "Bye guys, see ya later."

"Bye Grandma and Grandpa, We love you!" Lily shouted happily for their sake before stalking out of the loft, Emma following behind.

They made it a block, only five minutes away from the shop before Emma turned to Lily, the first words spoken since the loft. "Why did you tell her first?" It caught her off guard, the fragile tone of her mother's voice. She stalled her steps and turned to Emma fully, offering anything she needed to not sound so small.

"What?"

"Belle, you told her about Gold first. You cried to her and then you tried to hide your tears from me. I don't get it." Emma searched Lily's face before swallowing painfully. "Am I not who you go to in the future? Am I not a good mom?"

"What are you talking about?" Lily whined against her better judgement. "I told her because she asked. She came in like a mouse while I was deep in stupid thought of how I messed up and she caught me vulnerable. She asked and I didn't want to lie."

"So if I had cared to ask you would have told me first, but I didn't care enough to realize you were upset?" Emma was becoming more irate as each word flew from her mouth, but all her anger was directed within.

"I thought we agreed to not self-loath." Lily countered. "I tried harder around you to not look as upset as I was. I tried to be brave for you."

"I'm your mom, why do you and Henry think that I of all people don't want to see you cry or be there for you when you do?" Lily was taken back by the hurt in Emma's voice. Lily thought she was doing her a favor not making her feel worse.

"We don't think that. We think that… well I'm not Henry but I'm pretty sure we both think that you only get upset. It's easy disappointing someone else, but seeing your feelings or mistakes hurt your mom is really hard." Lily frowned, rubbing her hand down Emma's arm. "Think about Grandma. You told everyone and their mother that you were an orphan. You told them it sucked and you hated it, but saying it in front of Grandma makes you hurt in parts of your stomach not even cocoa could soothe. You hate to see that look in her eyes. That guilt."

"Lily I don't care what look I get in my eyes, I want to help you more than I want to save myself the guilt. I would do anything for the both of you and you just won't let me. You'd rather Belle." It broke Lily's heart to hear how insecure her mother's been over Belle.

Somewhere between finding Neal and laying him to rest, she never expressed that Belle was a great godmother, but Emma was her only mother. Here Emma was thinking Lily would rather have Belle and that couldn't be furthest from the truth. Lily would rather not exist than exist in a world where Emma Swan-Jones wasn't her mother.

"Do you know why she's my godmother?" Lily continued with a new smile splaying over her face.

"No, you've failed to mention that one." Emma mumbled.

"Gold took my dad's heart on a night he was trying to save your life. A week went by and no one knew. It was the moment he was going to crush it, Belle stood up against the love of her life to save yours. She showed her strength by banishing him from town and although the banishment obviously didn't last, the quiet moments that you felt safest happened to include my conception." Lily wrapped her fingers around Emma's wrist, staring at her with her most loving, bright eyes. "Belle gave you the chance to have me, my dad took that chance as a sign. The goodness in Belle, the ability to forgive those who hurt you and appreciate those who love you is something he wanted me to learn more than anything. So he chose her. If risking your lives constantly left me parentless, I'd still learn compassion from her and the will to continue on through heartbreak. Things I already began learning from the two of you."

Emma smiled through the glaze transitioning over her eyes. She crouched before Lily, her hands traveling softly down the leather arms of Lily's jacket before taking her hands in her own. Even this sad smile had Emma easily claiming the spot of world's most beautiful mother. The apples of her cheeks grew as the dimples below them hollowed more. The twinkling emerald had a way of calming Lily, because these tears where that of a happier nature.

"Have I told you that I loved you lately?" Emma whispered gently.

"I'm always down for a reminder." Lily joked but it wasn't far from the truth. No words were more encouraging than an 'I love you' from one of her parents.

"I love you so much, if you ever, ever have a secret, you know that you can tell me, past, present or future, and I will listen and help."

"I know Mama." Lily sighed, the guilt of confiding in Belle first finally found her. "I don't want you to think that I don't. I just don't want to upset you."

"I should be upset, if you're in trouble, it's upsetting and if I'm not upset, I am not doing my job."

"You have so many jobs, Mom." Lily dramatically groaned.

"Being a mom is the more important one." Emma clarified.

"Even if you're not my mom yet?"

"I was born with mothering you and Henry in mind." Emma explained. "From the dawn of time, long before your dad even existed." Lily giggled, falling into Emma's embrace. "Destiny and all that jazz." she promised, rubbing Lily's back and kissing her temple.

XXXXXXXXXXX

She left the inn early for a reason. It was supposed to be a calm day to wind down from the last three. Things were complicated, she just wanted to avoid it, but she wasn't the only one. She stopped by Killian's with Lily earlier that morning, seeing if he wanted to kiss her in her waking moments, but he was already gone.

Tracking him down at the docks wasn't hard or anything, it was just strange he'd leave so early without letting her know. She knows they're not married yet and he doesn't owe her anything, but things were definitely different between them, and he owed his daughter a bit too.

"Wait here, okay?" He requested of her son as they approached Killian and a man who she thinks she remembers being Smee. Henry nods, still focusing on his phone and not so much his mother. She's not as interesting as the sea or smartphone.

"Didn't he use to be a rat?" Emma asked humorously as she reached the pirate. Killian turned slowly, his voice showing signs of previous annoyance.

"Aye, in many ways he still is. Lily apparently is fond of him in the future, I'm at a loss as to why." He grumbled. She studied his face as he turned, taking daily inventory on the darkness beneath his eyes. She hopes he slept enough to function, but she's seen him function for weeks without. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Swan." His voice was raspy as if he had only just woken up, and her lips might have tingled in response to hearing it. That's neither here nor there.

_Answer the question and stop staring. _

She glanced back at Henry to cut the tension-charged exchange between them. "I was wondering if you could take care of Henry again?" She asked as she turned back to face him, the fluttering in her gut still not subsiding, but she'd just have to battle through it.

He swayed closer, turning on the smolder as he spoke "If you wanted to get close to me, you just have to ask." his voice only getting lower, more irresistible, and she's never noticed how utterly satisfying his accent was when he was this close. Well, she's pretended until now to never notice. "No need to use the lad as an excuse." But when his eyes flickered to Henry, the facade faded for only a fleeting moment, showing something else, something deep.

"Don't make this about us, about last night." Emma lowered her own tone. She's learned from him before, the best way to cease his flirting is to show a bit of her own. "I need your help, because Regina needs to train me in think together we might be able to defeat the Wicked Witch"

"That's the first reasonable plan I've heard since this all began." He reassured her, always. "Magic is a part of you, Swan. Don't forget I was there when Cora tried to steal your heart." Sometimes his reassurance and constant faith in her made her uneasy. She'd hate to fail him, she doesn't want magic nearly as much as she just wants a safe place again. "You've got the power inside of you, it's about time you embraced it. It's what makes you the savior." His eyes promised her something she wasn't ready to hear.

"This isn't about me. This is about defeating Zelena and helping Lily. Proving to her that white magic is priceless and she doesn't have to worry when she get's home."

"Where is Lily? Is she accompanying you?" Killian scanned the dock briefly before returning all attentions to Emma's eyes.

"She's with Belle."

"And you're not bitter about it?" He searched with concern.

"I was, we talked, now I'm not." Emma exhaled calmly. "I'm her mom, she loves me."

"I told you that." Killian smiled again, like it wasn't pathetic.

"I guess I needed her to tell me." Emma shrugged, not wanting to dwell on the fact that her eight year-old has to provide her with security she can't grasp on her own. "Anyhow, she's safe, and I need to focus on keeping the town safe and figuring out how to keep the future-you safe."

"You're concerned for my safety, are you?" He was flirting again, but she could see the insecurity gripping him by the stiffness of his jaw.

"I don't want my kids to hurt over the loss of their father." She knew exactly what she was saying, and she meant it. Leaving it there for him to find security in, because she very well wasn't going to confess love for him to relax. It didn't stop him from swallowing hard as he glanced over at Henry once more.

"You picked me over your parents. Is this because of what I admitted to last night?" a pained voice rising through the raspiness.

"It's because I trust you with him, and he likes you, a lot." Emma beamed at Killian brightly. He smiled back shyly. She ignored scratching behind his ear, not wanting to acknowledge how nervous it made him for her to be kind. She turned and motioned for Henry to approach before sparing Killian an appreciative smirk "Thank you again, for yesterday and Today."

"Anything."

XXXXXXXX

Lily was working on inventory Today. Belle had closed her books on researching and decided she needed to get back to cleaning this shop, Lily being very kind and generous, decided to lend her a hand.

Perhaps she offered to take inventory of wands first, although Belle sent her a wary brow, she agreed in the end and moved to the opposite side of the showroom to inventory all royal looking items. She used the time to scan the shop for the wand she'd need if she wanted to ever get back to her own time. She came across several different ones. A creepy one she's certain the Dark Lord Voldemort used in the last Harry Potter Film. After a moment of pondering whether or not he's real, she continued on to an icy blue wand and a subtle oak one with ivy engraved in the wood. Neither looked familiar. The one she needed was a light brass. The wand wasn't showing up anywhere she searched.

Fortunately for Lily, no one has pressed her on the matter of her return. She simply stated that she had it covered and they all decided it was good enough for them. Of course, she knew she wouldn't be that lucky for the entire stay, but she was really enjoying the lack of overreactions from her family over not being able to produce the wand.

Once she gave up hope in the showroom, she ducked toward the back, ransacking chests and drawers that Gold has stuffed all about. She was so focused in her search, she missed the sound of footsteps approaching her.

"Lose something, Darling?" She knew that smooth voice from anywhere. Her father was standing behind her and she could choose to whip around and meet his more than likely heartbroken eyes, or she could continue her search, using only 'yes' and 'no' to keep the conversation short. _What was he even doing here?_

"I'm inventorying wands." She groaned. She doesn't want to come off cold, but she's just not prepared to revisit last nights dark and guilty emotions when she could avoid the conversation for the time being. She lied to her mother over sailing. Sailing is her most favorite thing in the world. She did it to keep her eyes off her father's and the scoundrel found her anyhow.

"Ah." Killian kneeled beside her. "Have I upset you, my love?"

"No." She answered cold as she could muster. "I'm just busy working for Belle. This is a big shop and she's all alone."

"You won't even meet my eyes." he sighed, sounding defeated. If that's any indication to what lies within his 'forget-me-not' blues, then she's not interested in meeting them at all. "If you're pushing me away to prevent from hurting when I leave you, know that I will not be leaving you."

"Dad, I'm really busy. I just can't bring this all back up right now, Belle needs my help."

"That's funny, she's helping me. So, perhaps you could help her help me and spare your father a glance for sympathy if nothing else." He ran his fingers across her temple, sliding the loose lock that always flocked to her face behind her ear. Lily turned slowly, meeting his chin. The clever jerk he was, he dipped his head lower, catching her eyes before she was even ready.

"Daddy!" Lily smacked his arm playfully. "It was supposed to be on _my _terms. Why are you even here, where's Henry?" He sighed, leaning over to kiss her brow before answering.

"Your charming grandparents decided I was most suitable for helping Ariel find her prince." He confessed begrudgingly, not because he'd have better things to do… no. Lily racked her mind for this section of the story. She kept forgetting important details that all circulated around this darn shop.

"Ariel? The mermaid?"

"Aye." He exhaled with lackluster. No longer contented from being in Lily's presence alone. It clicked. That was not Ariel, and this day does not end well for him. She wants to warn him, to stand and blast Zelena from this shop, but she's not to tamper with time again. Especially when she can't find the cursed wand that brought her here.

"Oh." Lily mouthed longer than needed to breathe the sound. "Well, I'd love to be of assistance but I'm allergic to fish." Lily scrunched her nose before rising from her knees and moving out of the backroom. In passing, 'Ariel' watched Lily with suspicion and distrust. '_How fitting_.' Lily thought '_you're the witch in disguise, but i'm the one who can't be trusted_.'

"Lily!" Killian called out to her, but the child booked it to the front door, deciding a breather was much more necessary than following instruction and telling an adult her every move.

She made it out and onto Main Street just in time to almost be crushed by what appeared to be Henry's first truck, but she was too fearful for her life to be sure.


	10. Chapter 8: Brothers and Sisters

A/N: So… We've established that Lily is a wildcard, but in case you were wondering just how wild, I present you Chapter 8.

I appreciate all follows, favs, and reviews. I will continue to appreciate more if you so choose to do so.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own OUAT, and I've once again borrowed some dialogue, that tends to happen in this tale.

_**Chapter 8: Brothers and Sisters**_

Emma reached the loft with Regina a little after sundown. To be honest, Emma would have much rather gone straight home after that death-defying day she had. She was convinced Regina was bat-shit crazy and she's almost certain she'd prefer Gold to this psycho when it came to mentoring her daughter. Lily's never mentioned a bridge trick.

Still, she arrived at the loft and awaited the arrival of all the others. Killian was meant to pick up Lily from Belle on his way back with Henry, last they talked. She hadn't a clue where her parents went or why Regina spent so much time casting a protection spell on the loft to only come in and find it protecting no one.

After sitting around in an awkward silence for fifteen minutes, there was a knock on the door, leading Emma from the uncomfortable glancefest she was participating in with Regina. She opened the door wide to find Killian…alone.

"Swan, I didn't expect to see you here." He sounded as baffled as he looked. Emma was a little less baffled and a little more concerned.

"What do you mean, where's Henry? Where's Lily? Is everything alright?" She flew past concern and straight on to panic when she caught him glancing around the loft again.

"Henry's fine, he's with his grandparents, I thought they might be back here." He jumped to calm her, but there was still an answer she was looking for. "Lily is the only one I've lost track of."

_Great._

"We haven't seen them. What do you mean 'lost track?' All you had to do was pick her up from the shop?" She didn't want to jump down his throat but Lily was a bit unpredictable. Actually, the kid was a freaking wild card. God only knows what she's doing and where. What random rush or urge captured her and where the hell it led her. "And, if you're not with either of them, then what have you been doing all day?" Not that it's her place to ask, but they've kissed twice in the last two days and he's her future husband and they have a child running around she has to constantly reassure of his safety so yeah, it is her place to ask.

That was the moment he deferred his gaze from her eyes. She wanted to believe this wasn't a lie. So she did, she forgot that she could read him and let him talk.

"I was enlisted to help Ariel find her prince." He held his hand out as he walked through the loft door, something he did when he was searching for speech instead of being his confident, charming self. Her distrustful nature flared again but she was giving him the damn benefit of the doubt.

"Really?" Regina interrupted. "That _fish _is in Storybrooke?" For whatever reason, Killian hesitated to answer, almost caught off guard that Regina was present.

"Yeah, she was." He sighed. Emma studied him against her better judgement and found him a bit bewildered, but she promised she'd stop looking for reasons to run from him. "We found a clue in Gold's shop which led us to discover that Eric had been shipwrecked on Hangmen's Island, just off the coast of the Enchanted Forest."

"But… Lily was at the shop when you went?" Emma tried to school her voice to sound gentle, not accusing.

"Aye, briefly. She ducked out while we were in the back." Killian smoothed his hand over his mouth, tugging downward, and gripping his jaw. "I should have went after her, but the locator spell was in action when I discovered she had fled. Belle assured me she had most likely gone to fetch them lunch."

"So Zelena's curse hadn't reached that far, the island Eric was on?" Emma couldn't help it. She was staring into his eyes waiting for a lie.

"She's on her way back there now. She wanted me to say goodbye to Mary Margaret for her."

He had to be lying. There were three clues. He used her mother's Storybrooke name, he used Gold's storybrooke name and he had absolutely none of his normal charm.

"At the rate mermaids swim, she's probably already there." Regina commented. "In fact let's find out." The woman stood from her chair, moving to the floor length mirror in the corner of the loft. The fearful expression on Killian's face sealed his fate. Emma knew that there was more to this, and she couldn't let it go now.

"I thought you couldn't use mirror magic to check through worlds?" Emma moved from his presence toward Regina's.

"I can't, but after seeing the raw power you possess, I think maybe you can." And if it was meant to be a compliment, Regina made it sound more like a dare.

Killian let out an awkward sigh, discouraging and guilty. "There's no need, I'm sure she's fine." Emma knew then that if she didn't see Ariel and her prince, Killian would be off the list of people to trust and she hated to think of what that felt like. "Anyway, it's bad form to spy on such a private affair."

"How do I do it?" Emma asked eagerly.

"Well, you've focused, you've let emotions awaken your power." She thought back to floating in that kiss last night. Her powers had been long since awakened. "Now you have to look inward." Emma closed her eyes and let herself see what she needed to see. She focused on Ariel, on some far off island and some prince, praying she'd see what Killian told her she would.

She felt a light fluttering against her lids, opening to find the mirror swirling to produce the image she so sought. Sure enough, Killian's word lined up. Ariel and her prince were spinning on the shore embracing a love Emma would soon allow herself to find in the pirate brooding behind her.

"You did this?" She gasped, turning with awe fluttering across her features to find a shy and oddly quiet Killian. "You brought them together?" Like a goddamn hero.

"No." He sighed discouragingly. "It was Ariel, she never stopped believing."

"Modesty?" She tried her best to bite back the grin pulling at her lips. "You're just full of surprises Today." She marched the few steps between them, bringing a gentle hand to cup his face. Her body mindlessly leaned into him, her lips searching for his when he deliberately pulled away. He deliberately chose not to kiss her.

The loft door opened too quickly for her to gather her thoughts on what just happened and speak on it. She turned to find her mother, a knowing brow raised already, her father and Henry marching through. No Lily in sight.

"Where have you guys been?" Emma folded her arms to deflect the cold rejection brought on.

"Only having the best day ever" Henry cheered. "Where's Lily, I want to tell her about it?"

"You haven't seen her at all Today?"Emma questioned. Now was a good time to panic.

"Wait, what?" Mary Margaret moved to the forefront, stalling her hands traveling down the buttons of her coat. "There's an eight year-old roaming around right now?"

"I thought she was with you somehow." Killian shook his head bitterly. "I'll go find her. Evening."

"No, not 'Evening?'" Emma snapped, marching toward him. "You're not searching for her alone."

"She's my daughter Swan. I don't need to put anyone out."

"Killian." Emma found her face heating to exponential proportions, she was going to have a stroke at this rate, the way he was acting was unnerving at best, at worst? Completely bizarre and he might be possessed. "No are you… is something going on with you?"

"Yes, my daughter's missing."

She swore to god if he said 'my' one more time she'd smack him.

"I'll go with you. She's probably at her tower." Henry volunteered. "The playground overlooking the sea. She mentioned there was a spyglass at the top she used to look out at the water when she felt sad…"

"Lad you don't have to trouble yourself." Killian began but Henry was already en route toward the door.

"We're practically family, it's not trouble, it's duty." Henry opened the loft door and flew down the steps before anyone could stop him. Killian had no choice but to follow before he lost sight of both of them.

"Killian." Emma urged him to listen as he approached the top of the stairs. "I don't know what's going on with you, but… I'm tired of living in the past. I want to look forward to the future, our future." His grim expression in reply sent the terrible kind of chills down her spine. He failed to meet her eyes until the last moment, and she wished he never met them at all when she saw him suffering for whatever reason. "Killian?"

"I know what you mean." He winced before descending the staircase.

XXXXXXXXXX

The sound of waves crashing on the shore below didn't hypnotize her like she knew it should have. The sound usually carries her away with the tide as it recedes. There's always been a calm when it comes to her tower, but she can't bring herself to climb the stairs right now. Her legs are still itching to turn back to the farmhouse.

She's not sure what she expected going over there. She knew Zelena would be occupied with her dad all day, and she wondered where that left her good friend Gold. When she left his shop, she thought she'd just go by, ask about the wand and move on, but dropping down into that storm cellar took all rationality from her.

Lily was walking into the lion's den as if she were made of titanium, when she were mere flesh and bone. This is the Dark One, he could crush her faster than she could introduce herself. The other's had tried to free him behind Zelena's back just one day prior and he threatened their lives, warning them that she would force him to kill each and every one of them.

Still, she was not afraid. Where he was concerned, she was titanium now. Impenetrable titanium that won't be manipulated or bent to meet his needs. She was stronger-willed, like her mother, determined to get what she needed for once.

"_You?" _His voice still echoes in the ocean breeze. The shock more evident that any other aspect, he never expected a child this brave. He doesn't understand the concept of brave.

"_Me." Lily smiled proudly. "I know you've seen who I am, seen what you've done and what I've…'failed' to do."_

"_No." Gold lied through his suddenly visible teeth. The crook smiled like he was winning the game. _

"_That's fine. You will. However, you supplied me with some visions of my own, and I've seen all I need to now to know you don't get to frighten me." Perhaps that was a lie, but if he could lie, she could lie better. She's seen her mother's tactics to get perps to bend to her. Confidence is king when you're dealing with a criminal. _

"_What do you want, little girl?" His faux-charm fading fast. "You should know it's not safe in these parts of the wood."_

"_Oh, I'm out of the woods, Gold. This is farm country, and I know your master's every move. I think I'm just fine." Lily let the sass roll off of her in waves, hoping to drown him every time he thought he could swim to the surface and reclaim her again. "I know when you're commanded, you can't break it till she does. I know she banished you to this cage, to sit and wait until she needs you again. I know that you can't come out until she says so, and she's not here to say so."_

"_My patience is wearing thin."_

"_That's too bad." Lily growled, running her hands down the bars of his cage. "I still have a few questions."_

"_Well, ask them Dearie so we can go about our lives."_

"_What lives? Mine has yet to begun in this time, and yours doesn't seem like your own. Tell me, what's it like to be the one with their strings being pulled? You've had so many puppets, so many young and eager girls that you've broken to meet your needs. How does it feel to meet another's?"_

"_This isn't the night of revenge for you, Lillian. I've done nothing to you yet."_

"_Are you aware of how easy it is for me to make sure you never do?"_

"_You've decided to kill me? Well, are you aware of what that entails? Do you wish to be history's youngest Dark One?" He worked his signature creepy smirk._

"_I don't have to kill you to ensure my own safety." Lily admitted with a smirk of her own._

"_No? What do you have to do?" _

"_Break you." Lily answered stalely. No room for emotion when the air was this thick. His reaction finally matched the storm she knew was brewing within him._

"_Thanks to your failure, you weak little girl, you already have!" He flung himself against the bars, rattling the cage like a madman trying to get out. She steeled herself on the surface. She would not be afraid. "Better than Cora, ha! Cora had something you will never contain. Self-worth. You are weak! You are worthless, you had one job!"_

"_YOU HAD ONE JOB!" Lily shouted back, the ground shaking at the force of her words. "To be a father! You are weak, you are worthless and you are a coward. You abandoned him and from that moment on, everything he went through was at your small, brittle hands. You couldn't even come back here on your own." Lily wrapped her hands over his, still wrapped around the bars."I am better than Cora. More so, I'm better than you." _

"Lily?" Lily?" The sound of her name being called from only feet behind her brought her back to the present. Back to the sand and the sounds of the shore. Back to herself. "Hey Kid? Did you hear us?" She turned to find Henry, cheeks red and wind-bitten. He panted as he made the last few steps toward her.

"Henry? What are you doing here?"

"Uhm, let's see?" He narrowed his eyes sarcastically before wrapping her up in his arms. "Your dad is going to freak out, we've been looking for you." he whispered for just her to hear, like a warning she didn't need.

"Is he here?"

"Right here." Killian answered loudly, right behind Henry. Lily quickly pulled out of her brother's embrace to meet her father's disapproving eyes. "I'm going to give you one whole minute."

"I saw 'Ariel' and decided I would take a walk and let you all do your thing."

"That was hours ago." He interrupted unfazed by the mention of the witch in fish clothing.

"No, that was 30 seconds, you promised a whole minute." left over sass spilled from her lips before she could contain it.

"Lillian?" He huffed angrily. "Spill."

"I went to the farmhouse, the storm cellar at the farmhouse. I knew that the farmhouse would be empty, the owner otherwise preoccupied, so I went to the storm cellar."

"He was there, wasn't he?" Killian lunged forward, dropping to his knees in front of Lily and willing her shoulders to face him dead on. "Are you bloody daft? What on earth would possess you to walk into there all alone? You've done things I don't agree with but this is completely mental, Lillian."

"No, it's brilliant." Lily explained breathlessly. "Do the brave thing, bravery follows. I feel empowered. I'm not afraid, Dad. I'm not afraid and I know I can break him. He can't hurt me. Any of us."

"He very much can hurt you if you walk in there begging for it." Killian argued, panic-stricken. "You haven't witnessed what I've witnessed. I have scars that prove you wrong Lillian."

"Well, I have none to prove me right." Lily countered, so sure of herself. "I'm goodness and light. Don't you believe in me?"

"Of course I do." Killian sighed, defeated. Lily knew his weakness, questioning his faith in her was always a dropping point. The exact tactic she used to get her under Gold's guidance in the first place.

"Then believe me when I tell you I did the best thing for me." Lily won the argument right then. Killian's expression hardened as he sealed his lips tightly. It wasn't so much of a white flag, as him sinking with his ship, but winning is winning. She knew she won when he rose from his knees, staring above her head at the ocean.

"Right then." Killian turned on his heel and marched back down the hill, calling back for them to follow after a few steps of silence.

"Lily, are you alright?" Henry whispered as if Killian were still in earshot of even interested, for that matter.

"I'm wonderful." Lily beamed at her brother. "My dad on the other hand may just need a pep talk."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Henry, Lily and Killian managed to meet them a little less than halfway through dinner a Granny's. Just as Henry predicted, Lily was right where he looked, her tower. The two of them seemed unfazed but Mr. Doom and Gloom Killian left to go brood somewhere after dropping them off.

They continued on with dinner normally, discussing everyone's day, especially Henry's in great detail. Apparently his grandfather found the only way to connect with him was to let him drive his truck, which Lily confirmed almost barreled through her when she left Gold's shop. The conversation was light and fun but everything was settling within Emma on top of a sense of longing.

She couldn't shake the feeling of a missing member of their family dynamic. He was obviously upset and she was determined to figure out why after she got the kids settled in for the night. She was finally ready to open herself up and he decides now is best to close up. That wasn't going to sit well with the savior.

As the group stood, ready to go their separate ways, Henry stood beside Emma as Lily hugged her grandparents and 'Aunt Gina' goodbye.

"Hey Mom, can I ask you something really quick?" Henry whispered to Emma, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead at Lily's exchange with Mary Margaret.

"Shoot."

"What's so bad about that old farmhouse and storm cellar? Who lives there?"

"What?" Emma turned sharply but Henry shook his head, motioning for her to act less suspicious. "Why?" she mumbled through pressed lips as she turned back to stare at Lily's hand on her mother's stomach.

"Lily told Killian she went to the storm cellar and he almost lost it. He was freaking out and she kept saying 'he', 'he can't hurt me' something about 'breaking' him. I don't know. It was really intense."

"Oh my god." Emma almost lost her footing, a wave of nausea rushing up her body. "She said she went there and 'he' was there?"

"Yeah." Henry's eyes followed Lily as she was lifted into David's arms. "Who is 'he' and why does Killian have scars from him?"

"Henry, I honestly don't know how to answer that."

"Try."

How do you explain to your son that the father he just lost has a father of his own just miles away? _Right _and after that? How do you explain that he has committed heinous acts against two people he grows to love?

"He's a dangerous man. He hates Killian, he was responsible for the loss of Killian's first love."

"And Lily went to him?" Henry's concern peaked.

"God I don't understand." Emma shook her head, not able to maintain control over her emotions. "Why?"

"She was saying she felt better, like empowered. He can't hurt her now."

"He took Killian's hand. He can hurt her and he will." Emma became more and more frustrated as each second stretched. "She shouldn't have provoked him."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lily walked up, Emma looked over to see the diner door closing behind her parents' fleeting forms. "Why do you both seem so… vexed." Henry narrowed his eyes at Lily.

"You know that you mean a lot to me, right kid?" Henry spoke, and as sweet as the words were, they came out threatening. Lily flinched in response.

"Sure." Lily answered cautiously.

"What you did, going to that awful man's house was a dumb idea." Henry scolded, this newfound anger coming off of him like steam, thick and all consuming. His fists were clenched at his sides as he watched his sister's reaction.

"I'm not a baby, Henry."

"You are. You're only ei—"

"I'm not!" Lily shouted back, halting Henry's words. "And you don't get to treat me like one. No one does."

"Lillian, calm down." Emma spoke softly, moving toward Lily with means to console, but Lily maneuvered from Emma's embrace.

"No!" Lily argued. "I won't calm down. The only one who saves me is me. I saved myself from feeling guilty and sad and gave it to the man it belonged to. If you can't understand that, then you're not who I thought you were."

"Lily?" Emma gasped. "We're good kid. You and I, we're great, don't do this." Emma motioned to the space around Lily, meaning to hint at her dramatics. "You're overreacting so much that I'm under-reacting. I should be pissed right now, but I'm not. Just chill out."

Lily pressed her lips together tight, like her father when the words he wanted to say would only hurt the people he cares for. She steeled herself, allowing a wall to block the emotions she was just displaying.

"Baby," Emma sighed, a sudden feeling of guilt wrapping around her heart. "I don't want you to be upset. I don't want any of us to be upset. It's not that you're not brave and very capable of being whoever you want, it's that this man is a damn demon and he could have hurt you and felt nothing."

"Well, he feels something now. Lillian Jones is a force to be feared, not a little girl to be broken." Lily spoke proudly, her chin rising as she glanced over at her all too quiet brother. "And certainly not a baby." She spit for good measure.

If there's one thing Emma learned in the foster system it's that once you understand what a baby is, you are suddenly too old to be referred to as one(Unless it's your mother calling you her baby).

"You're not a baby, Lily" Henry spoke after a thoughtful moment. "but I'm quickly considering you… like my sister." Lily's face fell quickly. All anger or pride drained with the last bit of distaste she had for the previous conversation she shared with Henry. "And, I'm older, so you'd be like my baby sister."

"I believe you're looking for the word 'younger.'" Lily let a corner of her mouth rise higher, watching Henry from beneath her long lashes. "And I couldn't be happier to be considered such." With that, all was forgiven, Lily dove into her brother's arms, burying her forehead into the junction of his neck and shoulder. Henry sighed contently, wrapping his arms around her in return.

As cute as it was(and it was insanely cute, Emma's entire being hummed with adoration and joy from the cuteness), Emma was worried that the unpredictable nature of her second child paired with the overwhelming need to do right Henry contains would only bring headaches and worry. Lily was more than a wild card, she was a reckless spark and when ignited, could destroy forests to get what she thinks she wants.

Henry had a knack for finding danger all on his own. He had a way of getting kidnapped, and poisoned. His life was at risk just existing in the same realm as evil, and the target on his back from being her son was only going to grow larger by being Lily's brother.

And Lily was no better for Emma's blood pressure. She doesn't just find herself in dangerous situations, she hunts them out like she's got something to prove. She's too adventurous, she thinks her life is some series of fairy tales where she can't get hurt because she's only goodness. Emma doesn't want to defer her from dreaming, but the kid dreams with eyes wide open and feet pattering against pavement. She's not the type to sit and long for adventure. Every time Emma looks up, Lily's looking at danger with a sassy grin.

And she loves Lily for it. She's spirited and brave, and what's not to love about a little girl who has a personality bigger than most of the people she's met in her lifetime? And she loves Henry for his willingness to do what's right and his unwavering faith in 'Good.'

The reality of it is they would do well together. All Lily needs is someone to believe in her and all Henry does is believe in heroes. It's just that 'belief' brings Lily to do things like travel back in time or confront vile villains and that's not something Emma can get behind. So as she watched her children embrace like the siblings they truly are, she can't help the fear in her gut that she won't be able to protect them from themselves.

"Mom, Lily wants to give Killian a chance to cool off so she's sleeping over again." Henry doesn't ask, but tells. He told her like she was the child, but she wasn't, she was the co-parent and her counterpart was somewhere in a far off corner distraught as hell. It's already been two nights, and he barely seemed okay with giving her one. Emma doesn't want to go for three without asking. They haven't had a moment alone since he found out about Gold's treachery. It doesn't seem right.

"You and Lily can go upstairs, but I'm gonna check with Killian first." Emma advised, motherly. The way it should be.

"But Mom," Lily whined before recognizing the error. She froze instantly, her eyes wide and her mouth open in shock or fear, Emma wasn't sure.

"Baby, it's okay." Emma was quick to reassure. "Don't worry about it."

"I…Uhm."

"It's really fine, Lily." Henry chimed in. "I called my math teacher 'Mom' three times last year. Worst mistakes have been made." Lily kept her eyes fixed on Emma though, ignore Henry's comment completely.

"It's hard." Lily began. "It's just really hard to…"

"I know." Emma moved closer, wrapping her arm around Lily's shoulder and guiding Henry with her other hand flat against his back. They moved toward the Inn entrance as Emma continued as sweetly as she could muster. "I'm sorry, you know I am."

"I know." Lily frowned, keeping her eyes low as they walked.

XXXXXXXXXX

She found herself outside his door yet again with no courage to knock. What if he wasn't even in there? What is she supposed to do, go to the docks to look for him at a quarter to ten? What if he was in there but the look in his eyes made him seem barely-there? What if the look was too full? What if the anguish within was staring at her in the face and she had no way to fix it?

What if he didn't want her to? What if he didn't want her at all?

There was so much to discuss and so little ability to form sentences right now. Everything was jumbling around in her head.

"Swan" He groaned. "I told you to just knock, it's a little unsettling to hear the footsteps and guess who's on the other side."

"You always guess right." Emma laughed hopefully. He stared blankly at her for a moment, his body blocking the view of his room, his eyes dim and his face aged with worry. She tilted her head, hoping he'd give her something to go on as to what she should do next.

Sure enough, after careful scrutiny, he widened the opening, motioning very gentleman-like for her to come in. She swept through the doorway, lowering her eyes to the hardwood until her feet hit the carpet his bed rested on.

His room had but one bed, one large king, where she and Lily had shared a queen last night. She couldn't help but think back to the night she slept here with the both of them. He was the last thing she saw before drifting off, his careful eyes watching over his sleeping daughter.

He worried so much for that little girl.

"Are you here to tell me Lily's staying with you once more?" His voice was so uninspired, lifeless almost. "I could have figured as much." She turned slowly to find him watching the wall beside the armoire and not her at all.

"Instead of what I'm here to say, do you care to tell me how you could slip out of the diner without mentioning the storm cellar?" She didn't want to sound angry, she wasn't angry, but if there were anything to level the playing field, anything at all that wouldn't make him hate her as much for keeping Lily another night.

"I couldn't form sentences at the moment, everything came out self-loathing and spiteful." He explained in the same dead tone. "I feel as if it's all against me, the things she's done Today. She wouldn't speak to me at the shop and then she goes into the dragon's lair and accuses me of not believing in her when I'm upset." He turned from her then, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Emma wanted to move to him, comfort him the way she did the night before. She wanted to be there for him, but he doesn't seem to want her around, much less holding him.

"What do I do right now? Do you want… Killian?"

"Emma, I don't know what you came here for."

"You." She answered quietly. "There's no other reason for me to be here. I'm here for you."

"I don't need you to be here for me." Her initial response was hurt, but she reeled it back in, not allowing herself to be oversensitive.

"Who's the challenge now?" Emma chuckled. "You want to scale my walls like that damn beanstalk, here I've broken enough down for you to trust that I care and you won't give me a chance to."

He dropped his hand to his side, the defeat festering over his presence. He kept his eyes focused on anything but her.

"Talk to me about it. Talk to me and I'll listen and I'll help. Please don't start pushing me away now." Emma cautiously took a step toward him. His eyes rose to her knees. She took a second step, gaining her a steady gaze at her waist. "I'll help." She whispered before leaping the last foot and a half to his space. He met her eyes, searching for a reason to trust her and she'd be damned if he didn't find one.

"Why doesn't she want me around anymore? Has she told you?" He whispered.

"No, she hasn't." Emma frowned, watching his face fall further into despair. "She thinks you're angry, that you want a break from her."

"I haven't been with her since the damn funeral." He argued as if they were Emma's thoughts and not Lily's.

"I know, Killian." Emma sighed. "Come to the room, just hold her, she'll be happy to see you."

"Emma, she doesn't want to see her father right now."

"You're almost as dramatic as she is." Emma laughed. "She's eight and she loves you more than anything. You know how much she loves you Killian. Come to the room, stay over, we'll work it out." Emma promised, rubbing her hand down his arm. She thought she was getting somewhere until he stared at her hand with such discomfort.

"Swan." He sighed, removing her hand from his arm. Somewhere, far off in the distance she thought she heard a branch snap, a glass shatter. She thought it had to be something other than her own heart.

"What happened? The chase is ending and you're bored?" Emma challenged, frustrated by the urge to cry ripping her apart.

"It's not that." He bowed his head, shamefully.

"Then why are you suddenly treating me like a clingy friend who won't get the message. I thought…" She stopped herself, not wanting to look a pathetic as she felt. "Never mind, Lily is still your daughter. Let's just go fix that." She marched toward the door, swinging it open when he stopped her with his pained, raspy voice.

"Emma, it's not that I don't want you." It sounded like a plea, begging her to understand why he suddenly can't stand physical contact with her.

"I don't really care what it is, I should have known better." Emma shook her head, warning herself of the repercussions of crying. Killian moved swifter than he ever has, pressing the door closed and staring Emma down.

"You know how I feel about you, Emma, please." He was trembling and the look of anguish he had taken was more than enough to break her heart.

"Tell me the damn truth now or forget it." She demanded lowly. He moved closer then, his hand making contact with her this time. His fingers, wrapping timidly around a loose strand of hair framing her face. "Killian." She persisted.

"The truth is… I have a secret and I have to keep it from you and it pains me every moment." Killian was honest, without actually coming out and telling the truth. His eyes were honest, his voice was pained and his heart was on his sleeve. "I hate this, and I would tell you, but I just can't. Please forgive me, please trust me, and please don't press me any further, the secret is treacherous enough."

"This secret keeps you from wanting me anywhere near you?" She whispered, afraid how weak she'll sound if she tries to talk any louder.

"Nothing keeps me from wanting you Emma." He promised, moving his fingers delicately down her jawline. "It just keeps me from acting on it." And with that he dropped his hand and took a step back, coloring inside of the lines he just drew.

There was a moment between them that stretched on. She stared at him with everything she had, every single sliver of her superpower at work.

"Fine." Emma moved into him, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her forehead against the hard line of his collarbone. "I'll trust you, if you just tell me that that future with Lily and Henry and the two of us is something you still want."

"I promise you." He pressed his cheek firmly against her temple, wrapping an arm around her back, his hand stroking through her hair. "It's all I'll ever want."

He stood, steady massaging her scalp with his ringed fingers. Despite the cloud hanging over their heads, she felt herself relax every second spent in his arms.

XXXXXX

"The compass resided at the tiptop of a beanstalk, guarded by a giant who could smell blood as much as he could smell fear." Lily spoke animatedly. "Good thing our princess and her newfound pirate were fearless as they come."

"Lily, I think you might be better than your dad at telling stories." Henry chuckled. "Your narrative voice is even exciting."

"Well, as long as you don't let him hear you say that, I'll take the compliment for what it is, very kind." Lily beamed. "Anyhow, the giant was named Anton, unbeknownst to our duo, and he was actually a very kind giant, believing humans to be as vile as they thought he was. The lesson there is to never believe what a storybook reads because a storybook was written by one."

Before Lily could continue, the door opened, revealing not one but both of her parents. She froze at the sight of her father. He was livid when they last spoke and she's certain he's found a way to have Emma side with him.

"Princess?" He spoke softly. "Are we interrupting?"

"I was telling Henry the story of the Lost Princess and the Pirate." Lily answered, avoiding eye contact incase his voice mislead his intent.

"Oh." Killian spoke quietly. "I'd hate to impose, I'll just see you tomorrow then."

"DAD!" Lily stood quickly from Emma's bed, moving past Henry's to the front door where her father stood before her mother. "What do you mean you'll see me tomorrow? No kiss, no 'sleep well, my love?' What kind of game is this?"

"I can assure you, it's no game at all, my love." He frowned. "I wish only to please you."

"I'd be pleased if you sat for the story." Lily offered "Henry says I'm a better teller than you."

"What the heck happened to 'don't let him hear you?'" Henry called from the bed, a mock scowl covering his features.

"Ignore him." Lily giggled before tugging on her father's hand and pulling him back to Emma's bed with her. "C'mon Mo..Emma." Lily could kick herself. This was the second time in one night she slipped. She watched Emma's reaction with widened eyes. Emma shook her head gently with a smile.

"What part were you at, Baby?" Emma asked as she sat next to her son, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"The Beanstalk." Lily answered cautiously, not completely sold on Emma not being angry that she keeps slipping up. "Do you want me to continue?"

"But of course. The Lost Princess and The Pirate is Emma's favorite story." Killian winked as he pressed his lips to Lily's brow. He froze, suddenly, staring at Lily like she were going to burst into flames at any moment.

"What?" Lily whispered with concern. He ran his tongue across his bottom lip before shaking his head against the notion that there was anything at all.

"Nothing Lilylove. Do go on." He encouraged, rubbing his hand against her back. "I wish to hear how well your story-telling skills fare against mine. If you're only at the beanstalk, I'd love for you to start over." Lily nodded eagerly before turning back to Henry and Emma.

"The Lost Princess and The Pirate." Lily beamed. "It starts in a distant realm. She was trapped in the Enchanted Forest, searching for a way home. He was trapped in the Enchanted Forest, searching for a way to seek revenge on the last glimmer of color being stolen from him. There were villains and heroes, and the pirate played both roles. The Evil Sorceress killed the surviving nation, one by one, their hearts were ripped out. The fearsome Pirate, disguised as a mere blacksmith was hidden beneath bodies. The princess discovered him, pulling the wounded away from him. He looked up and saw light. For the first time in the last 300 years of his dark life, he gazed up and saw light."

"What?" Killian laughed. "What are you saying?"

"Do you know the story better?" Lily sassed. "Go on, tell it your way and we'll see whom's is better." Killian took her challenge on with nothing more than an eyebrow quirked up in confidence as he repositioned himself on the bed to get comfortable.

"Well, you have to explain the light. It wasn't just light, it was colorful, beaming warmth in the form of a golden mane, curving delectably around the face of a very angel. The pirate thought the woman a saint, sent to him to finally end the centuries of suffering." Killian turned to Henry, nodding to further express his story. "Anyhow… the light almost deferred him from the mission at hand. To gain an alliance with the princess, to conquer the beanstalk and achieve the Golden Compass."

"The Golden Compass?" Henry's eyes lit up. "Please explain the Golden Compass!"

"Let me, Dad." Lily insisted. Killian nodded. "The Golden Compass looked as it sounded, but much more than that. It could navigate you through portals, allowing you to arrive at the exact point in space you wished to be. It was necessary for both the Princess and The Pirate and had they understood that they were traveling to the same land, they could go together. Which brings my dad to the next part."

"The Pirate pretended to be a blacksmith for no longer than a moment when the Lost Princess held a dagger to his throat, threatening his existence if he did not come clean." A feminine snicker sounded from across the space between the beds. "Apparently, the Princess had a superpower, unknown to the pirate. She could see through any lie."

"Except around the pirate, which made her feel very uneasy." Emma added.

"Mom you know this story?" Henry gasped.

"Yeah. I do." Emma pressed a kiss to Henry's temple. "Killian use to tell me it when we were younger. He thinks he's the pirate and I'm the princess."

"EMMA!" Lily groaned. "Now Henry's going to picture your blonde hair."

"That makes it ten times better!" Henry cheered. "Please keep going!"

"Well, the Pirate came clean, not another lie from there on out." Killian smiled over at Emma. "Every other part was painfully honest as he explained their need to acquire the compass. So out they set for the beanstalk, keeping a watchful eye on each other. Once coming across the giant's Beanstalk, the pirate and the princess ascended the oversized plant. The climb was dangerous, but the conversation was death-defying."

"The conversation?" Henry snorted. Lily let a little laugh slip from her own lips. Henry's laugh did that to her.

"The pirate could see through to the Princess's soul. He read her like an open book which addressed her heartbreak and abandonment. He knew of her downfalls and loneliness. Although the princess fought against the unwanted intrusion, it was to no avail. He liked a challenge, that much was for certain. He just wasn't aware then that the challenge would be never-ending." Emma frowned at Killian's words. Lily knew it was hard for her mother to hear about this part of herself.

"There was no end in sight, but by the end of this tale, you'll see he not only accepted the challenge, but conquered it, in the most honest, trustworthy, heroic of ways." Lily grinned. "At the top of the stalk, they were eager to find the compass, but they must first get past the giant. It's fair to say the two, although from different worlds, made quite the team. The giant was effortlessly knocked out and the two were on their way to finding the compass. There were a few challenging tricks along the way, but with each other, they managed. That was until the giant awoke. The loud steps alone was enough to cause the ground to quake, and that there was the fall of the pirate. Bricks fell from all places, trapping the pirate under them."

"The princess shook with terror for more reasons than she was willing to admit, one being, the possible death of the pirate." Killian added smugly.

"The Princess had to pull her bravery from her ass." Emma laughed.

"Emma." Lily gave a disapproving scowl before a smile split across her face. "Anyway. She had to be strong and fearless, smart and cunning. So she faced the giant head on, capturing him under his own trap. There she had the chance to get what she came for. She held out a poison tipped sword, requesting the compass. The giant lost his faith in humanity long ago, expressing how she'd kill him anyhow, and wreak havoc among the realms, but the princess was not that person who ruined every other person for him. So she explained that he was wrong. She had someone she needed to get back to, she was doing this for humanity, not to harm it. She tossed the sword, ready to walk away when the giant sprung from the trap. Fear was an understatement, the princess expected nothing less than a quick death when the giant surprised her. He pulled out the compass, handing it to the princess."

"The princess asked the giant for one more favor. One more test of good faith." Emma added.

"What was that?" Henry asked on the edge of his seat, searching all three faces for answers.

"To keep a watchful eye on the pirate. For ten hours." Emma smiled sweetly at Killian.

"Why?" Henry asked angrily. "Why couldn't he come?"

"Because she didn't trust him." Killian answered, not sharing Emma's sweetness about it. "Despite his honesty, despite his teamwork, he was not someone she wished to embed her trust with. So she rescued him from the bricks, pulling him out and basking in his praise before slapping a manacle across his wrist." Lily found her mother dropping her gaze, and uneasy resettling taking place across from her.

"It's not that she didn't trust the pirate, she didn't trust herself around him. From the moment she met him, she couldn't think properly, she couldn't use her logic, or her superpower. She could only fall under countless spells when he smiled at her, or she met his impossibly blue eyes." Emma explained, watching Killian like a hawk, studying him intensely.

Lily watched her father view Emma with the same strong gaze. For the first time since she got to this time, she saw the love she's made from. The passion burning bright in both their eyes, the aura around them swirling and gleaming with reds and pinks.

"What happened next?" Henry interrupted the stretching silence, too invested in the love story to notice the very one unraveling before his own eyes.

"Ten hours had past, but the pirate stay scorned. To make matters worse, the heart-ripping sorceress had found him only to tell him she'd be leaving him behind." Lily continued. "She was heartless herself, for decades the woman walked around with no regard for a single soul among her, her own daughter included. See, she sat and planned this travel, not for weeks but for twenty-eight years. Anyone uninterested in aiding her was easily a causality. The pirate should have seen himself lucky to not be dead amongst the rest."

"Until light was restored by the lost princess, his only reason for being was to seek revenge on the demon that stole away his love. "

"And hand." Lily added in quickly to keep the story rolling. She's not naive(well not too naive). She knows her parents have loved before, but never after. To see or hear her dad mention Milah or watch her mom react to Neal are just such strange and uncomfortable situations. In the future, they aren't spoke of with regret or remorse, but peace and acceptance. To recall any lost life in her own time is cheerful, bright. She wasn't ready to dwell with lingering feelings of anything less.

"Right." Killian nodded at Lily, an understanding in his eyes. "The sole purpose of his alliance with either witch or princess was to achieve passage to the new realm. There the demon resided in human form, much easier for the pirate to slay. For the witch to take that away would be a fate worse than death. Another lifetime spent with failure burning his soul."

"Now without the compass that the princess took when she left the pirate, and without the alliance of the sorceress, he found himself hopeless. Hopeless, but not helpless, never helpless. A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets. The pirate refused to get anything less than revenge. So he thought hard and came up with a plan on how to get back in the good graces of the evil sorceress."

"Oh, this is the part where the pirate rips out a heart only to give it back a few hours later because he's secretly a big softy?" Emma jested earning her a glare from both Lily and Killian.

"No. Well yes, but no." Lily rolled her eyes dramatically to give her mother the hint to not ruin stories. "Anyhow, Henry, he does steal a heart, he has an enchantment to steal one heart. In this land, you can have your heart ripped out and function as normally as possible. Unless of course they are controlling you."

"He… he controlled someone?"

"No, he gave the heart to the Sorceress as an offering of good faith." Killian explained. "She found him valuable once again and they were back on for the deal to travel realms together. They just needed to get the compass first."

Lily and her father continued on, explaining the bird and the members of the Lost Princess's crew. The descriptions may have been lengthy, but when one of those people is your grandmother, you tend to talk a bit about how cool it is that a princess can wield a bow and arrow, and talk to birds. Not to mention, the moment the zombies came to life was pretty exciting. Henry never heard a fairytale so 'cool.'

Killian was just finishing the part about the cell bars dropping and locking them in when Henry interrupted.

"Didn't he love the princess?" Henry asked with concern. "That is not a good way to get a girl, even I know that and I'm twelve."

"He didn't know why he felt so obligated to abandon her, not then. He didn't realize the desire to hurt was fueled by the pain of her betrayal. He wouldn't allow himself to believe he ever could be pained by anyone again. That would require feeling something."

"So he didn't know he loved her?" Henry revised his previous question.

"Right." Killian answered meekly.

"But he did, even from the beginning?" Henry's game of 'hot seat' never got old to him. Everyone else on the other hand could do without 21 questions over one moment in time.

"Aye, lad, from the very moment she entered his dark and gloomy world. His since forgotten muscle began to beat once again." Lily loved when her dad told the story mainly for the romantics of it all. He was the best wordsmith she knew. She turned to her mother to find her eyes blown wide.

"Anyhow," Lily quickly continued before Emma got an urge to run. "They managed to find a way from the impossible cell. The previous inhabitant left a key for the next unfortunate soul to find themselves in it."

"Right. Some type of squid or octopus ink. It was really weird because the loon who was locked in there before her wrote her name a million and ten times on this paper."Emma spoke quickly to hide her discomfort.

"Well, if you're going to tell the story, Emma…" Lily narrowed her eyes at her mother. "Try a bit harder to make it intriguing."

"Can we skip to the part where the princess beats the pirate in a sword fight, even though she had only used one once in her entire life?" Emma chuckled.

"What?" Henry turned to Killian with shock. "She beat you?"

"No, I let her win because her determination wa … wait me?" Killian shared glances between Lily and Emma before dropping his gaze to the ground. Lily knew he really hated lying to Henry, so he was just going to let the two of them do it.

"Did you really think I couldn't guess this was about you two?" Henry asked with a small tinge of irritation rising. "Be honest with me at any time, really."


	11. Chapter 9: The Truest Believer

_A/N: This was the longest I've gone without updating. I wish I could say 'life got in the way' but I really don't have a very exciting life. I think I just struggled with my muse on this chapter. I'm already eager for the chapters to follow. Anyhow, thanks for waiting. _

_Also, thanks for following, favoriting, reviewing and just reading in general. _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT **_And I don't believe I've used a single ounce of their dialogue in this chapter either. Hmm.

_**Chapter 9: The Truest Believer**_

"_Did you really think I couldn't guess this was about you two?" Henry asked with a small tinge of irritation rising. "Be honest with me at any time, really."_

Emma's been blindsided before. Hell, she's been blindsided a lot, by this kid in particular. Sometimes she wonders when he'll stop surprising her or when she'll learn to watch out for signs of suspicion or secrecy. The time never comes and here he is doing it again. She can't think fast enough for her mouth to follow, so out spews intelligible sounds like _whah, gah, tah, uhm _and the most common one is the small sound of air leaving her lungs when she just sits dumbfounded with her mouth open.

"Mom?" Henry persisted, but Emma couldn't do anything but shake her head trying desperately to jumpstart her brain. After another silent moment he moved on to his sister. "Lily?" Lily's wide eyes and gaping mouth were not too much unlike Emma's, but she could see something glistening in the jade and Emma worried it was the fear of being forced to lie again.

"Ha…ha, uhm.." Lily tumbled out a few noises of her own before pressing her lips in a tight seal and shutting her eyes. A lone tear found its way to her cheek instantly.

"Killian?" Henry's irritation slowly turned to desperation as he called on his future step-father to be honest. From the look of Killian's anguish, he picked the right person.

"Lad…" Killian began before a long inhale. "I'm going to be as honest with you as I can without you being too confused to continue on. Deal?"

"As long as someone is honest." Henry encouraged, not saving Emma from the side-eye she deserved. "Deal."

"Alright…Swan?"Emma turned to Killian, silently giving him permission to do whatever he wanted. She was in a hole with no ladder and if he was carrying rope, she'd take it. "Henry, you believe in magic, and evidently fairytales enough to put your mother and I in one."

"Then it is your fairytale?" Henry asked more eagerly than upset.

"Aye." Killian pulled Lily snug against him, pressing his lips softly to her temple. "Lillian, how about you tell Henry the part of the second curse? It might sound more appealing from your gifted mind." Lily opened her eyes then, turning to get a glimpse of what her father was playing at.

Emma watched Killian with confusion herself. She gave him permission to do this because she trusted him more than herself at this point. He made better decisions regarding the people he cared for and he made it clear Henry was someone he cared for.

"Uhm, if you think that's best Daddy." Lily slowly turned to Henry, offering an apologetic smile before beginning. "Only days since the end of the Neverland expedition, the town was met with their second sign of destruction. Pan had managed to switch bodies with Henry, leaving the boy in the box and the demon roaming free around Storybrooke."

"WHAT?" Henry's eyes bugged out from his head, his chest heaving and jaw slack. "What is this?"

"The story." Lily whispered. "It's the part about the curse ending. Pan was going to enact another one, the first one is what separated the lost princess from her parents. This one would have separated everyone, leaving Pan to bend and break these people into whatever he wished."

"Pan? as in Peter Pan."

"Dad, you really thought this was best?" Lily glared at her father with disappointment. "He's freaking out."

"Henry, Peter Pan is a villain, he wished to steal your heart. You wanna know why?"

"Why?" Henry didn't hesitate to ask.

"Because it's that of the truest believer." Killian beamed at her son, trying his best to make it seem so positive. "You're extraordinary Henry, you just can't remember. If you trust any of what you've been shown, if you feel any familiarity with these people, this town, it's because you've resided here before."

"When?" Henry demanded.

"All your life." Emma answered glumly. "You… you brought me here, almost two years ago, and we left a few months after. Because of a stupid curse. Regina had to find a way to break it, and it required everyone from the Enchanted Forest to leave, but you couldn't come with them, so I had to stay, because I'd never leave you again Henry."

"Again?" Henry shrieked. She knew this part would scare her. She knew this was the one reason she never wanted him to remember. The idea of telling him that she put him up for adoption, knowing what he would feel all over again, it's not fair. It's not right, and she hates that she did it in the first place. She hates that he wasn't always hers.

"Henry you can't remember, and I'm sorry I really am, but I can't tell you if you don't remember. It's too hard." Emma sniffled. "Please don't ask me to explain that part."

"Mom!" Henry whined. "I knew something was weird about this town, but you're saying I have the kind of amnesia that makes me forget my entire life?"

"It's not amnesia, it's magic." Lily explained softly.

"Right, everyone in this town has magic?" Henry rolled his eyes in frustration toward Lily. "You, Regina apparently, who else?"

"Me." Emma breathed. Henry whipped his head around, staring at her in disbelief and disgust.

"You. Have. Magic?" She felt for her son, she truly did. So she channeled the pain he was feeling and let it light the spark.

Emma held her palm out, keeping her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. She winced before manifesting a flame. His deep intake nearly crushed her, until his words came in and took care of that.

"You are a liar." His voice was low, but there was so much damn passion in each word. "I don't even know you. When we left a year ago, you left behind my sister?"

'What?" Emma opened her eyes turning to witness Henry's anger.

"Henry." Killian sighed

"Lily?" Henry huffed. "You have the same magic. You… she has magic because you're her mom."

"No." Lily butted in, moving off the bed to Henry's side. "Henry you're wrong." He turned, advancing on Lily, just as angry.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that she isn't your mom." Lily leaned further away from him, her eyes widening at his tone.

"You're angry right now. Daddy always says that people are entitled to their feelings, but you need to simmer down because you're scaring me." Henry did as she said at once, reeling himself back and taking long, deep breaths.

"You're right. I'm sorry." He admitted to Emma's surprise. "Just tell me the truth Lily."

"Emma isn't my mom, yet." Lily responded truthfully. "I sorta am not from this time."

"Is Killian?" Henry turned to find the pirate in question. "You're from the future?"

"No, I'm very much from this time. Actually…never mind." Killian shook the idea from his mind.

"Henry, here's everything you need to know to be able to sleep tonight." Lily intervened, regaining Henry's attention. "My dad equals your future step-dad, except we don't use that word, he's your dad. That's _our_ mom, but she doesn't have me for another year and you're _my_ brother. Now, you're about 13 years older than me, so I get why you would not think we're as close as we've been this past week, but we are. I love you so much Henry. I love you so, so very much that I'd do anything, including risk my own existence for your happiness. So whatever else you need, whatever other truths you need to know, you come to me, I'll give you them. If it's too much, we stop here, and you fall asleep knowing that the people in this room love you more than anything."

The entire room was dead silent as Henry pondered Lily's words. Lily appeared the most confident. Killian smiled sweetly at her, but his eyes read uncertainty and Emma was ready to just vomit. She was thankful though, if nothing else. If this was her team through life, through anything, than she had the best one imaginable, paired with the occasional help of her parents, there wasn't much she didn't see them getting through.

If she had to pick the weakest link, it'd be her.

"I love you too." Henry finally spoke after the longest moment. "Don't ever risk your existence. Ever."

"Right." Lily chuckled. "Well, I'll keep that in mind."

"Henry?" Emma hesitantly spoke. "I'm so sorry." Tears stained her face, her throat felt as if it would close up at any moment but she needed him to know that she felt the guilt of lying. As he turned back to her, he picked up on it, with a sad sigh.

"I don't exactly understand." Henry admitted, "But I don't want you to cry Mom. I'm not angry, just confused and I wish you would have told me about your magic."

"Up until a few days ago, I didn't remember I had it. Actually, up until this afternoon, I hadn't used it in a year." Emma thought back to falling off a broken bridge earlier that day and how it seemed like months ago.

"Doesn't mean you would have told me if this whole thing didn't rip wide open on you."

"No, it doesn't. I probably wouldn't have either. Not because I like to lie to you, but because I didn't know how. That's the God-honest truth, Kid. I really didn't know how." She felt fresh tears forming in her eyes and she fought against them. "I'm sorry."

"Don't get upset over it Mom. We'll figure it out, I still love you." With that, Killian rose to his feet slowly.

"Well, I'm going to leave you to it, then." He sighed, "Goodnight all."

"What?" Emma, Henry and Lily as spoke in unison.

"Dad, no." Lily shook her head, with the quiet whisper.

"Killian, stay." Henry encouraged.

"You can't just leave now." Emma wasn't as encouraging, so much more, demanding. "We're telling Henry that this is his future family and you're just gonna walk out? That's not very 'family' like."

"I'm not walking out, I just don't wish to impose any further."

"Family doesn't impose." Lily expressed with a pout. Henry nodded in agreement beside her. Killian gave a moment for thought, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing before he agreed.

"Alright, but I do request a moment outside with your mother." He suggested, turning to Emma and extending his hand. Emma stared at his ring-clad fingers, as masculine as they were, they floated elegantly toward her. In that moment he wasn't a pirate, but a prince. She followed his arm up to meet his careful expression.

The reality that he was hers in the end kept crashing in, unlike walls closing in on her as they did before; more like sunshine bursting through the cracks between your blinds as it rises. It's enough to wake you, not with a start, but a mild touch. She's not naive enough to believe in happily ever after, but she doesn't have another way to describe the rush his constant support gives her beside 'elation.' She feels it blooming in her gut, chasing away the sour stomach the overwhelming feeling of failure left her.

She knows now his ability to heal her. So she takes his hand, allows his gentle tug to aid her in rising from the bed. She doesn't release his hand as they walk out of the room, nor in the hallway, despite the grim look on his face.

"Are you holding up?" He used that dark and brooding rasp that simultaneously tore at her heart as it built up her need. It breaks her walls a bit more each time, and she's tired of rebuilding them just to keep him out.

"I guess." She answered trying to remind herself that just because she has a hot future husband, all her problems won't just fade. She tried desperately to keep in mind she can't rely on the comfort his bright blues provide her. Then he drops her hand to cup her cheek, and it's when his thumb swipes away drying tears she recognizes that she's waited her whole life for a comfort like this. She's not going to deny it one bit.

"You are not a bad mother, Emma. This is an awful situation and you've done your best." His voice has so much promise, she wants to believe that he actually thinks that, but it's hard when she knows what she's done wrong.

"Killian, you don't have to blow smoke up my ass. I know i've done a shit job." Emma wanted to deny the comforting hand, because of the unwarranted compliment it came with, but she found herself only leaning into it. He guided her eyes back to his as he rejected her words.

"Swan, we said no more self-loathing." _Right. _"And your boy, he's a bloody marvel, accepting it like a champion, very versatile, very adaptable. He's wise beyond his years for definite."

"You think he's accepting it."

"I think that Lily's right, in any given situation one needs to be reminded that they're loved and that's all they need to know to move through it." He smiled his devastatingly gorgeous smile and she was close to forgetting he was moving through a situation without hearing that. Before they walked in here, he was on the verge of giving up and there had been so much disappointment in his eyes. He needed to know but she wasn't sure she was there yet.

"You know Lily loves you, Henry's crazy about you…"Emma grasped his hand from her cheek, pulling it down to intertwine their fingers. "And… I mean, obviously I care about you. At least I hope it's obvious, I don't know really, after everything if you understand that."

"Emma, we don't have to talk about me or us right now." Killian frowned, staring at their joined hands. "You don't have to make something out of this because of Lily."

"I think Lily's made out of _this_, Killian." Emma was confused, she knows she isn't supposed to ask, still she can't find herself feeling okay about his sudden change of mind. She doesn't want to bring it up, force him to reassure her again and again, especially after what he said during the storytelling. _Aye, lad, from the very moment she entered his dark and gloomy world. His since forgotten muscle began to beat once again._

"I mean, if you're not ready, don't make yourself."

"I mean, I'm not ready to confess love like you are, apparently" She quickly caught onto how critical she sounded when his fingers went slack against hers. "Killian, I just don't want you to think this is about anything other than me finally realizing how much you've done for me, how much you continue to do, how maybe I can fall and not have to worry about getting hurt."

Maybe its blind optimism she didn't recognize she had until it was too late. Maybe she's just being sensitive, but she thought that a guy who loved her for this long would have looked differently after her admitting she'd like to try. She was expecting something more enamored, much less pained. He stood with a grimace worse than the one he wore at Neal's funeral. His lips were quaking by how tightly he had them pressed.

Whatever this secret was had to be ripping him apart and she'd be there, he has to know she'd be there for him.

"Killian?"

"I would never hurt you purposely. I would never."

"Purposely?" She pulled her hand from his.

"You know neither I, nor any man control fate."

"Fate says we're true love."

"True love isn't easy."

She noticed then that he had been persuading her against the idea of them. This is what he wanted, what he promised to do in Neverland. This is what she waited for, what she undoubted would have achieved already if it weren't for a curse ripping them apart. Now he's over it.

"Tell me you don't want this, that all this sounded more appealing than the real thing." Emma growled. "Tell me now so I stop looking like a goddamn idiot." He leaned away with a tilted head and confusion written across his eyes.

"Is this the real thing, Emma? Are you committing to me?" The insecurity in his voice almost fell on deaf ears as Emma thought only about the way he was still too damn far away.

"I'm trying but you keep shoving me in a corner and telling me to 'stay' instead of kissing me the way I know you know how."

All at once Emma was pressed against the door, his hand gripping at her jawline, forehead against forehead, he held her against him. She waited anxiously for the spark, the igniting sensation of their lips colliding, but all she received were harsh, rum-scented breaths splashing against her own.

'Killi—"

"Emma, I can't kiss you." He whispered aggressively. "I wish to so badly, I swear it, but I can't. I'm cursed."

"What?" Emma's voice didn't sound to loud to herself, but Killian's fingertips pressed a bit harder behind her ear, his arms shaking from wrist to shoulder.

"Shh," he thrusted through chattering teeth. His nerves were so evident, so terrifyingly evident Emma felt a rush of anxiety in her own gut. "I'm cursed." the hush tones were quieter but more intense than ever. "If our lips touch, your magic will drain from you."

"Who?" Emma growled lowly. "Who the hell di—"

"Who do you think?" he pushed off from her, anxiously pacing the hall in front of her, tugging frantically at his hair. His eyes were searching the floorboards as he moved. "She threatened Henry's life, I didn't want to risk it by telling you, but I don't want to lie to you either. I'm at a loss, Love, I'm failing miserably."

"Look at me." Emma whispered. "Just stop and look at me."

"Everything I want and need is slipping away." He rubbed furiously at his face, sure to burn holes if Emma didn't leap in to action, halting his arm and tugging him to face her.

"Killian, please look at me, I'm right here, we're a team."

"Emma, I don't know what to do. If she finds that I've told you, she'll kill him." He let out a whimper as he gasped for breath. Emma thought she knew heartbreak, but the tragedy inside of her after witnessing that was a world all its own. "My family, every part of it is being stolen away before I ever claim it. With Henry's life being threatened, Lillian adamant about risking her own. And you, Darling you only want me on the cusp of me having to push you away."

"Killian, please trust me. None of us are going anywhere." She promised. "You did the right thing, telling me."

"Did I? What of your son? What if she hurts him, will it still be the right thing?" The tears in his eyes were threatening to fall faster than she could stop him from shedding them.

"Hey, she won't. Don't you believe in me?" Emma smiled through her own emerging tears. She was more confident of Henry's safety in this moment than Killian's. She's never seen him this broken and afraid.

"Don't you dare." he scolded. "You know I'm your biggest supporter Emma." With little resistance, she cupped her hands around his moistened cheeks.

"I do, so believe that I'll keep everyone safe. I'm the savior and I'm not losing anyone else. Not my son, my daughter… you." She vowed. "So we can't kiss, I'll figure it out."

"You know I would give my life, don't you?"

"Yes." Emma answered regrettably.

"I would have done anything, I will do everything to keep him safe, I promise you Emma."

"Stop it. I'll figure it out. We'll remove the curse and kill the witch. We're gonna keep everyone safe. You included. I promise."

There was a pause, Killian stood with clenched eyes as Emma looked on with compassion. Then all at once he pulled down a curtain, blocking his emotion from her view. HIs hand tugged quickly at her wrists to release him, turning to gather himself out of her sight.

"Hey?" Emma whispered.

"I came out here to comfort you." His voice full of detest. "I shouldn't have behaved that way, just now, I was cowardly. Pathetic."

"You're _entitled_ to feel upset. That's what you tell Henry and Lily, your feelings are your own and they are okay." Emma was talking to a wall, his back still turned from her, non-responsive. "Killian?"

"Swan, what are fathers?"

"You think I know?" He turned then, advancing toward her in half a second.

"Don't discredit your father." He warned. "He was willing to let the dream shade take him in order to not defer from finding your son. He was ready to spend his last moments searching for a way to him. He sacrifices for his family."

"You're not sacrificing yourself, Killian." Her hands wound themselves in his shirt on instinct. "Listen to me, if you die, do you think she'll stop? You think the wicked witch is going to suddenly say 'Oh, well I'm satisfied, let me go back to Oz?' There will be no damn difference in her, just another thing to taunt us over. I, however, will be lost, and Lily won't exist. Not to mention, she'll still try to kill my son and the rest of this town to get what she wants from Regina."

"Then what?"

"We stop the fucking witch. It's not rocket science. Get rid of her, move on." Emma released him, smoothing out the wrinkles her clenched fists had cause. She realized how intense she just became and she wasn't a fan of it. "It's late. I'm overwhelmed, you're exhausted. Let's just get some sleep."

XXXXXXXXX

Lily woke with a start. A strong hand cradled the back of her head, bringing her to the silky fabric of one of her father's shirts. Only, her father doesn't wear his silky pirate shirts to bed, and her mother should be somewhere near her if this were home.

Some nights she'd have to pull herself from the comforting idea that she were back home in her own bed, in their warm house by the sea. Some nights she'd have to remind herself that she's in the past and it's all going to work out.

"Shhh, you're safe." Killian whispered against her crown. "Everyone is safe."

She knows her father is perceptive, but the ability to read a mind that hasn't made it to existence yet is a super power for the ages. He can sense her in the dead of night before her mind even begins to make sense.

"I love you." Lily mumbled into his chest.

"And I you, Lilylove." his breaths were even enough to guide her back to sleep, but she's not ready yet. She wants more of him, more promises that she is at home, even years before it ever exists. She wants to feel comforted further, so she begins their game.

"For how long?" She whispered, repositioning her head so she could watch his eyes open in the darkness.

"How long?"

"Yeah."

"I say something here, right? This is our 'game?'" Lily nodded eagerly against his shoulder. "Hmmm…I will love you for as long as it takes me to travel to the night sky and gather all the stars and bring them back to you." He grinned down at her. His smile was illuminating the room in the dark hours of early morning. Gooseflesh was painted across her skin with the registering of his reply.

"Daddy…" She turned, resting on her forearms to stare at his gleaming blue eyes. "That's not nearly long enough."

"Well, the amount of stars in the sky are infinite my Lilylove, just as my love for you."

"You're one hell of a pirate, Dad. I'm sure you could gather every star if you saw it as the treasure it was."

"Who taught you to swear?" He lifted his head, pressing his forehead against hers so she could feel his eyebrows furrow with discipline. She had to stifle a giggle.

"My mister Smee."

"Smee is a bilge rat. He knows not how princesses should behave." He leaned back onto his pillow before continuing on topic. "But, I could never gather them all. You see, stars are born every moment, every time a loved one dissipates or fades from this realm, they are cast out into the night's sky. Watching over as you sleep. So think of all the lost loved ones gathering everyday. Stars are endless."

"As is pain." Lily grimaced. "The pain of losing someone you love to the night's sky."

"No… the pain subsides, I promise you that much. You grow and learn that there was a purpose for their passing. Sometimes, a person can only bring so much light into your life before they need to light up another's." He reassured. "So, when they leave you, it's for the greatest good. You will find light again and they will help another find it as well."

"How if they're in the sky?" Maybe this was too much for her to ask in the middle of the night, but she knew his walls were down, less aware of what little girls should be privy to.

"Well, just think of all the loved ones leading sailors home. Think of all the sleepless nights I've endured. The only thing keeping me from falling apart, was to look up at the stars and see the beauty in this world."

"That's why you hate New York. All pain, no beauty." Lily sighed.

"Alas, your mother was there, and it was the most beautiful place in those moments." He matched her sigh, a bit more peaceful.

"Daddy… Daddy will you tell me about her? About your Mama?" Lily questioned softly, sliding her fingers across the scar on his cheek, hoping to coax him into talking about it. "How she joined the stars?"

"Aye" he guided her cheek back to his chest, her forearms collapsing with little resistance. "She had a smile like a sunset behind a mountain range. I would savor that last glimpse because I know the darkness that followed would be around for a there was the last time she smiled. It felt like the sun died with her. She loved me like I love you, Lillian, with all her might, all the strength of ancient armies. The absence of that love felt like I lost the final battle, like I lost the war and I'd be going home a disgrace." Lily felt him exhale shakily beneath her cheek.

"It's okay Daddy, you know you're not a disgrace."

"Neither are you. No matter what happens to anyone. When the stars call them home, it's their time and that's all there is to it."

She should have known he'd relate it to her. They hadn't spoken of what happened with Gold and Neal at all really. He hadn't gotten a moment with her alone to mention it, and for that she had been thankful, until now.

Now she bathed in his words because he stay the wisest man she's known for years now. He is her guiding light, the northern star and she's a fool for thinking anything less than absolute comfort would come from speaking with him over it. She should have gone to him first. She should have laid down her reasons and let him take the weight away like only he knows how.

"Continue your story, Daddy." Lily pressed, wanting to keep his words within her and not share her own on the matter.

"I remember the night like yesterday, more vivid than any other death. She lay in bed with an illness undetectable by anyone because her glow was ever present. She wouldn't allow a tear to shed, and I wouldn't allow a soul to tear me from her side. She continued her stories until the bitter end. The parting words she left me with were simple as could be. 'Be not afraid" He twined her waves around his fingers, lightly playing in them as he spoke. "Liam took two days to get home. He buried her with lilies and covered the ground with fresh crops. He promised her love would continue to grow that way."

"And that's when he took you with him?" The voice asking was neither Lily's nor Killian's. Lily sprang up from the bed to find Henry and Emma watching from Henry's bed.

"We didn't mean to wake you." Killian apologized. "Go back to sleep. It's still early."

"No, we want to hear it too." Emma sat up, propping a pillow behind her.

"Yeah, we want to hear it." Henry agreed. "Did your brother take you on his ship then?"

"Alas, he did not." Killian frowned, "He was only in the academy then. A few years older than you."

"And how old were you?" Emma asked lovingly. Lily couldn't watch her mother's interactions with her father anymore without forgetting she'd fallen into the past. It was all the way she knew it to be. Something changed and she's let love in. No more 'past Emma' just Mom and Dad.

"About a year younger than our Lillian." Killian planted a sweet kiss to her temple. "It was later on, after my father left and I was living as a common street rat that he found me. When it mattered most for me to have a home."

"Liam?" Henry began. "Your brother, he's not here either is he?"

"No." Killian hummed grimly. "He too is in the stars somewhere. More than likely amongst the brightest ones, outshining the rest, that's how Liam was. The political one, the face, the voice the leader."

"Like Grandpa?"

"Yes, my love, just like your grandpa, David."

"David?" Henry rose with a start. "David as in her uncle?"

"Shit." Emma mumbled beneath her breath. "David and Mary Margaret aren't Lily's aunt and uncle. They are my parents. The lost princess's parents. The curse made time stand still and if I told you they were Lily's grandparents, you'd question their youth."

"For how long?" Henry didn't appear to dwell on surprises for long.

"28 years." Emma answered nervously.

"Killian were you cursed?" Henry's tone stayed even, as if he weren't surprised at all.

"Yes, but not here." he explained. "I was back in the 'surviving nation' with the dark sorceress, Cora."

"So you're twice my mom's age?" Henry chuckled. "I mean, technically my mom's dating a much older guy?"

"He's actually like 1000 years old, Neverland does that to you." Emma laughed before realization dawned on her. "Wait dating?"

"Wait, 1000?"

"I'm about three and a half centuries. Certainly not 10."

"Henry, we're not… we're not 'dating' right now." Emma explained quietly, Lily could sense her father's discomfort. "I wouldn't start dating someone without talking to you."

"You guys weren't dating before the second curse?" Henry sighed. "You know who else is 300, Edward Cullen." he added, turning back slightly to Killian.

"Never met him." Killian and Henry did this often. Emma would say something in the future that neither of them found nearly as serious as she did. Something like not wanting to visit New York that summer, or needing to take a christmas photo. They made sure not to ignore her, but try and distract her with the alternate conversation being had.

"No? He's a vampire, are their vampires in the Enchanted Forest?"

"Hmmm, there are fairies, ogres, sirens, mermaids, nymphs, dragons… a demon in men's clothing, but no I don't believe I've come across a vampire yet."

"No, we never dated." Emma cut in before Henry could get carried away with the magical beings of the Enchanted Forest.

"Why not?" Henry shrugged. "Killian's a good lookin' guy."

"Awe, you think I'm good lookin' why thank you lad. You're quite a looker yourself." Lily couldn't help but chuckle as Emma sat with discomfort.

"You two are obnoxious." She groaned, "I didn't agree to stay awake for this. Tell me more about your mother." Emma suggested.

"What more do you wish to know, Love?" Killian's playfulness dwindled.

"What did she look like, did she like to dance?" Lily whispered, eager to hear the way her father described her again.

"Was she magical? Did she powers?" Henry added.

"Would she like me?" Emma asked breathlessly.

"Yes." Killian didn't hesitate to confirm. "She would love you wholeheartedly, all of you. She was magical in her own sense, she never drew flames or healed flesh wounds. She did dance about where ever she went, floating and gliding like the most majestic of creatures. She would have valued your magic, Lillian, but mores your spirit. And she would have admired your innocent ability to believe in anything, Henry, and your goodness, accepting everything with a nod and a smile."

"What would she love most about Mama?" Lily asked sweetly.

"Oh, there's no telling. Perhaps her innate ability to always only do the right thing. How it's never a choice, regardless of what Emma believes, her heart is a moral compass and it only points her north." Lily was sure to absorb Emma's reaction. The blonde did not disappoint, her eyes widening in awe, staring with something so intense and pure, it couldn't be defined as anything other than true love.

"Yeah." Lily sighed contently. "that's one of my favorite things too." Emma caught Lily's watchful gaze and looked down shyly.

"How did she look again?" Henry revisited.

"Like the most enchanting gypsy. Dark hair, like soot from the chimney, traveling down her back in gentle oceanic waves. Her eyes would change, sometimes bluer than the ocean on a clear day, and other times she'd gaze with something lighter than a crystal ball. Her skin was so olive, it looked as if she were baking in the sunlight like the corn meal muffins she would make. She spent so much time in her garden, kneeling on her knees as the gentle breeze floated her mane so elegantly, I think I did believe she was magic." The sun was set to rise within the hour, leaving a cool blue light drifting in from the window, allowing Lily to better see his thoughtful expression as he talked.

"You're magic, Daddy." Lily complimented. "I love you."

"How long?" He smugly grinned. Lily giggled at the question.

"Until the ocean dries up." Lily promised. "And probably even longer. I imagine you'll be quite sad if that ever happened and it would be wrong to leave you in that state."

"Oh I imagine so." He chuckled. "Darling, why don't you tell us all a story about your time."

"My time?" Lily sat up on her tush, folding her legs in front of her 'Tiger Lily' style. "What story shall I tell?"

"Henry, what would you like to hear most?" Killian offered

"God, I don't know. So much. Uhm, what about the best christmas we've ever had together, as a family?" Lily nodded happily at her brother's request. Christmas time was her favorite time.

"Well, this past year was pretty great, but I think the best one was the first year you were away at college." Lily began. "You left for NYU and Daddy was really nervous about the holidays going well without your help setting up. He learned all the decorating traditions from you. So, we tried hard to fill your shoes, and keep him sane until you came home the week before Christmas."

"Sane?" Henry snickered. "Killian, I didn't peg you for the type to overreact."

"He just tries so hard for you Henry. He tries to make sure you never go without." Lily smiled at the relationship she's witnessed over the years between her father and Henry. "Christmas especially, so when you came up with the idea of pranking him, we were a little weary."

"Pranking?" Henry laughed. "Me, prank someone?"

"That definitely sounds like you kid." Emma rolled her eyes playfully.

"You told Mom to tell him you wouldn't be home this year, that there were no flights out the rest of the week and the roads were closing due to the storm." Lily placed a comforting palm against her father's knee as if he were going through it all over again. "Oh, if you only saw his face, you would have aborted the operation so quickly. He sat in your room holding your snow globe collection like a heartbroken child." Lily caught a glimpse of her father's sincere interest. "And then you showed up a few days before Christmas Eve and he tried his hardest to contain his emotions. You guys stayed up all night watching Christmas movies and redecorating everything we already put up the 'Henry' way."

Lily couldn't help but notice the misty eyes of her father and the zoned-out grin her brother wore the entire story.

"Sounds like you two are pretty close." Emma ran her finger's through Henry's hair.

"Sounds like it."

XXXXXXXXXXX

After waking up at ass-crack dawn, the future family found themselves an early breakfast as soon as Granny's griddle heated up. The warming comfort of their dynamic hadn't yet left Emma, all through breakfast and after she was more and more eager to start this life and proud of how little she felt the need to run, despite the trembling quake Killian's gazes left in her gut.

Although Killian was weary about letting Henry out of his sight with the bounty over his head, Emma reassured him that Lily was more than capable of keeping them both safe, and Henry had his phone to call if anything, _anything at all Killian, _went down.

With that, she managed to drag him off to Regina's only a few minutes behind schedule. The walk there was pretty quiet, Killian evidently deep in thought and Emma just content to be breathing without another deep, dark secret being expelled. This is the first time in days there isn't a weight on her shoulders and a fear in the back of her mind. Things are as honest as they are going to get right now without that memory potion.

Entering Regina's house is always a weird recollection of memories from her first weeks in town. She steers clear of all things apple every time she crosses the threshold. Just as Regina moves to usher them both upstairs to meet her parents, Emma held her hand out to stall Regina. She turned to Killian for the first time since the diner, finding a good point on his arm to rest her hand as she spoke.

"I'm gonna talk to Regina quickly about what you told me. Why don't you go up without me?"

"Swan, do you think it best? I'm not certain I should have even told you." She knew his nerves were at an all time high when he couldn't even meet her eyes, too busy scanning the floor with anxiety.

"Where's the trust?" She whispered playfully, earning her a scowl.

"When I expressed to you how much this frightened me, I wasn't joking like you seem to keep doing with me." he whispered with frustration. She moved closer now, wrapping her other palm along his strong jaw.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I appreciate your concern so much, Killian, I do. I just need you to trust me as much as I trust you right now. Can you do that? Can we do this?"

"You trust me?"

"Of course." Emma wistfully smiled. She has no reason not to trust him, he has every reason not to trust her and he does anyhow. There's a lot of making up for she has in her future, she knows that. "You deserve every ounce of my trust Killian. Please."

"Alright." he nodded, guiding her hand softly from his cheek and to his lips, his kiss scanning onto each and every knuckle. "Don't be long, I've done my best to avoid your father since finding that I soon impregnate you."

The reality of how real this could get(would get) was rattling between her ribs in the form of what she once thought were butterflies. Now she knows it's something much more fierce. Walsh gave her butterflies. When they first started dating, he'd send her corky little texts and she'd smile to herself. She'd get excited the first few times they went out and when she thinks about that now, compares that small flutter to _this,_ she realizes just how insignificant every love interest she's ever had looked lined up next to Killian.

She wasn't 17 anymore. The truth was, he wasn't some high school crush, or whatever the adult version equated to. Where a youthful version of Emma Swan would experience a type of giddiness, she felt pure passion. He didn't make her blush nearly as often as he made her need (and he made her blush quite often). It wasn't just a sexual need, although that craving came in waves and may just drown her sometime soon, it was mentally, spiritually, and emotionally too. Somewhere between gaining her memories and gaining a daughter, their relationship began a natural flow. It started as a stream, traveling the same path it always has, and became a raging river, racing in the direction of their future.

And what a future it will be, she could see it clearly just by the way he stares.

"If he says anything, remind him how cute she is, he'll forgive." Emma smirked, as she watched him intensely. He nodded with a coy grin of his own before walking away, dropping her hand at the very last moment.

"So, yesterday when I said you didn't yearn?" Regina snickered as she moved around the corner to the kitchen. Emma turned and followed her, not before rolling her eyes.

"We're not yearning." Emma argued. "Lingering, maybe but definitely not… 'yearning.'"

"What's the secret?" Regina asked with all the world's seriousness after that mocking brow raise.

"Killi— Hook, he's cursed." Regina took one last tense moment to stare at her before huffing out a laugh.

"Cursed? With good looks and an obsession with eyeliner?" Regina was moving about the kitchen, gathering supplies and containers, her attention everywhere but on Emma where she needed it.

"Regina, this is serious." Emma scolded, the reality of the situation weighing on her more than she was willing to let on in front of Killian. "Zelena cursed his lips. If he kisses me, I lose my magic."

"Then don't kiss him." Regina shrugged. "Honestly, you're not a couple of horny teenagers, you can't handle keeping your lips off your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Emma growled. "And it's not about that, it's the fact that this witch had the ability to curse him, and…" Emma stalled, unsure if she should rattle Regina's cage the same way Killian's was with the threat on Henry's head.

"And?"

"She warned him if he told me, she'd kill Henry."

"AND YOU LEFT HIM?!"

"With Lily who is obviously more powerful than any of us. You saw Zelena at the diner, Lily scared her." The anger dwindled from Regina, her shoulders falling in acceptance.

"At least she's afraid of someone. Still, I don't think an eight year-old should be responsible for her older brother's safety." Regina lectured. The parenting lessons were endless, and as fun as it is to go to school with Regina under magic, this was just so much more fun.

_Not. _

"Right. Well, he's safe. They both are. Zelena isn't going near Lily or Henry. I'm not kissing Hook or losing my magic. I just thought maybe you'd know how to reverse the curse."

"We kill the witch." Regina snarled. "We just have to figure out her weakness. Go meet your parents upstairs. I'll be there in a second." Regina dismissed as she rifled through her cupboards. Emma slid away from the kitchen without another word.

Nothing Emma said now was going to distract Regina from her task at hand. She was too focused on whatever the hell they were here for, she couldn't spend two minutes discussing something important to Emma.

She wasn't afraid for Henry's safety any more than she had been before the threat. Obviously he was threatened, he was Regina's son too. If Zelena wanted to ruin her sister, she'd target her child.

And if she did, Lily would be able to deflect her from them. She's not leaving her eight year-old out as a protector, she's leaving her eight year-old with her older brother to have fun, but she trusts that if Zelena did strike, Lily and Henry sticking together would keep them safest. She didn't plan on staying at the Mills Manor very long, and if Zelena didn't come looking for Lily after that stunt with Gold yesterday, Emma figures it's safe to assume Zelena's not willing to try that eight year-old again.

XXXXXXX

"So, Mom's magic comes as easily as yours in the future?" Henry brought up as they made their way to the lake in the center of the town's main park. Lily had a satchel strapped over her shoulder with two practice swords sticking out on both sides. She turned her head to catch the emotion with which Henry asked.

He had a smile etched out in the corner of his lips and a bright and warm gleam in his eyes.

"Easier." Lily replied. "What comes easiest for her though is self-control. She doesn't see a reason to use magic when she's survived the first twenty-eight years being 'ordinary.' Lily tried her best to hide the snarl with which she spoke the last word. She's never found 'ordinary' appealing.

"Makes sense." Henry shrugged. "And Regina? Does she use hers often?"

"Not as much as she used to." Lily thought back to the storybooks. Regina was abusing magic for the longest time only to be betrayed by it so often. In Lily's life, Regina only uses her magic during battles and lessons. "She mainly just uses it for me, or to fight baddies."

"Baddies?" Henry snickered. "What the heck are those?"

"Bad guys, or girls. Girls can be bad too. There was once a gang of bad girls. That's beyond the point." Lily laughed to herself before stopping her steps just before the grass patch between two willow trees. "Here we are, best practice spot in the park."

"You practice often?" Henry pointed to the swords Lily was drawing from her bag. She flung the bag to a nearby bench and tossed him a sword.

"Aye, but I've graduated. Dad lets me use the dull swords now in the pawn shop. He had the dwarves dull them down so they're safer, but I still get use to the weight of a real sword." Lily was kneeling at the moment, tightening the laces of her combat boots as she spoke. "I think I'm pretty strong for my height and weight though."

"Yeah?" Henry seemed skeptical so it was important that Lily gave him little reason to doubt. She rose to her feet, stretching her back before tossing her hair up in a ponytail.

"Yeah." Lily laughed. "I take gymnastics and ballet, so I have a lot of muscle now."

"Oh do you?" Henry chuckled.

"Yeah, I do." Lily narrowed her eyes. "I'm tough Henry."

"Woah, Tiger. You're tough." Henry joked but the mention of her future nickname from him stalled her heart.

"Tiger?" Lily's jaw dropped as sweet nostalgia took her from the moment.

She was swarmed by visions of her Henry, teaching her to ride a bike and tie a bowline knot and tie her shoes, her Henry reading to her at night and calling her from college. She missed her Henry so much. She missed the way he'd Skype her on weekends and read her scenes from his screenplays for class. She missed their late night drives when he was home and he'd let her sit in the front as he drove through the backwoods of Storybrooke. She missed forts and movie nights and putting ridiculous looking pigtails in his mop of brown hair. She missed playing helicopter during commercials or around the house during family dinners, the way he'd sit for tea parties and pretend to have intellectual conversations with her stuffed bears.

She was over the moon meeting Henry at this age, having him young enough to relate to her on a juvenile level. Her Henry was already an adult, already finding himself as the prince he is, not the boy with a believer's heart. Where her Henry was concerned, she knew she'd be the savior, but he'd be the King. He was level-headed, mature, understanding and trusting. His opinion was never one she'd disagree with, she knew he only thought with everyone's best interest in mind. Where her father would prioritize his family's well-being, Henry would find the best possible outcome for absolutely everyone involved. He was a natural born leader.

That caused him to forget how to be a child. Though his heart never shrunk in size, it grew less eager. So is it so far fetched that she's gotten something out of spending time with the Henry in her storybooks?

"Tiger…" Lily mumbled to herself. "You… I'm your tiger. You call me Tiger."

"Yeah?" Henry smiled, moving close to his sister. "Why?"

"Princess Tiger Lily, from Peter Pan." Lily smiled brightly. "Daddy being Captain Hook and all."

"Wait, what?"

"Daddy, he's… you didn't get that from the story and the missing hand and the hook? Or how he hates Peter Pan?"

"Your dad is—"

"Our dad." Lily corrected. "He's both our dad."

"Right. He's _the _Captain Hook?"

"Yeah. I really thought it was obvious. The second curse? He's a pirate? I thought you paid better attention." Henry dropped the sword, moving blankly toward the bench as he sat, Lily watched the incoherent haze take effect.

"And he named you Tiger Lily?" He questioned as Lily drifted closer

"No, Mom and Dad named me Lillian Eva Jones." Lily sassed with a smirk. "Don't let this confuse you, Henry."

"Isn't Captain Hook a villain?" Her smirk faded instantly. She slouched on the bench beside her brother, trying her best not to become infuriated by the question.

"Well, ask yourself: does he seem like a villain?" Lily spoke evenly, hoping she didn't sound nearly as uncomfortable as she felt. Her Henry was the first person to defend Killian every single time. Something about New York made this Henry a little more close-minded.

"No, but… is he?"

"Not to me, never. He's only ever been a hero and an amazing father." Lily answered honestly. "But to do him justice, because I know if you walked up to him and asked him yourself, he'd tell you that he's done many things he'll never forgive himself for and he can only try his best to be half the person he was meant to be."

"Maybe I will ask him myself." Henry mumbled.

"As much as you don't want your mom to get hurt, I don't want anyone to get hurt, not Mom and not Dad." Lily explained. "Your opinion means most to him Henry. Even now, in the very beginning, he wants you to find him worthy of her."

"I'm not saying he's not." Henry groaned, throwing his head in his hands and aggressively rubbing his temples. "This is a lot more than I let on last night. Everyone was so upset and my mom was on the verge of crying again and I just don't want that to happen anymore. Maybe I tried harder to hide the freak out."

"We're gonna get your memories back Henry. You're gonna be alright."

"Just promise me everything works out in the end."

"Well, I'm eight, I'd hardly call where I'm from 'The End' but we're all pretty darn happy, Mom especially." Lily smiled despite the ache in her heart from hearing Henry's concern. "I promise you, ex-villain or not, Killian Jones does not have it in him to hurt Emma Swan. He is undeniably in love with her. If you don't believe that either, you just ask him. Ask my dad what he is willing to do for her and if you find a single thing he says he's not, I owe you a billion bucks."

"So then we're billionaires in the future?"

"I didn't say I'd give you, I said i'd 'owe' you. And for as long as I owe you, you'll never be broke."

"I'll keep that in mind." Henry chuckled. "This might be a bit off topic but what does 'heart of the truest believer' mean?"

"Henry?" Lily snorted. "That is probably the most self-explanatory title ever."

"I know, I mean obviously, but what does it mean to me. Why do we all know that?"

"Pan needed your heart." Lily explained. "Neverland was never meant to exist outside of the dreams of little boys. Pan wanted it to so badly because he couldn't deal with the idea of growing up. So he made it happen. As long as there was belief in magic, there would be the magical island of Neverland. In your version, fairies die when you say you don't believe in them, but in the real version, Pan dies. If he had your heart, the heart that launched the breaking of the first curse, then he'd restore faith in magic and magic on the island."

Henry took a thoughtful moment, resembling his grandfather too much for Lily to stand it. She grinned brightly and nudge him.

"I have magic because I'm a product of true love. Mom has magic because she's a product of true love. It's there and you can see it, I can show you and you can believe it, but your magic is completely different. Your magic is faith and belief without proof."

"Isn't blind faith a weakness?"

"Not when it saves hundreds of people from living another day over again for the twenty-eighth year in a row. It's the strongest thing imaginable. Henry, you're a hero."

"Sounds like it's a family business." Henry sighed.

"Yeah… I guess." Lily looked away for a moment, she's not heroic. She's eight and gullible but maybe she'll get it together. "We should train. There are tons of things we'll need our swords for in this town." She stood from the bench slowly. "All the heroes in our family know how to swing a blade."


	12. Chapter 10: Future Plans

_A/N: I feel disappointed in myself for not meeting my personal deadlines I set up. It's been a weird week or two. I am very excited for the next few chapters however and should be busting them out with ease. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this, and even more so those who follow, fav, and review. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own OUAT. It makes for a nice daydream though. _

_**Chapter 10: Future Plans**_

"Swan, I thought we were going to check on the children." Killian sighed as Emma guided him into a booth at Granny's.

The place was closed out, everyone was home apparently, but Lily and Henry. The two were still at the park according to Henry's last text and Emma didn't want to force them into adult supervision once again. He'll be thirteen in a few months and Lily is strong enough to handle anything these days. She thinks it's a good idea to let them have a little more fun as just brother and sister.

"Killian, chill out." Emma groaned. "It's gonna be okay. Henry text me ten minutes ago. They're at the park, everything is fine."

She could tell by his grimace that he wasn't buying what she was selling. She smiled mischievously at him the moment his eyes met hers. She was going to make him smile one way or another, that's what any good future wife would do.

"Wanna see some magic?" Emma offered. She could visibly see him fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Sure, Love." He faked a smile but she wouldn't let that defer her endeavor to turn that into a real one. Without ceremony, Emma waved her hand, magically transporting his hook to the chandelier two booths behind theirs. What she received from him was anything but a smile.

"Tis bad form to tamper with a man's hook, Swan." He grumbled, moving quickly from the booth to retrieve it. Emma sat a bit turned off. She knew better than to take any of it personal, but she can't help but hear that small voice commenting on how less adoring he's been since she's expressed her reciprocating feelings.

"Okay seriously?" Emma pushed aside her insecurities to deal with his. "What is up with you? I know this whole Zelena thing is bothering you but it's not my fault." Killian slid back across from her, reattaching his hook as he stared glumly at the table.

"Apologies Lass, for my rudeness."

"Killian?" Emma sighed.

"Swan I understand that you're confident in our daughters abilities to protect, alas I don't feel it's the best to place the pressure over her." He explained hastily before she could interrupt. "Emma, she's here because she wanted to protect Henry. She's in the past and battling demons because of her need to protect. She needs to learn it's not her job to be anything but a little girl."

"I get it." Emma groaned. "I don't believe setting her up as the protector is the best thing, I'm not having her babysit. I just know she's safe. They're safe right now. Henry promised me he'd keep her out of trouble and she promised she'd get them away from any danger that pops up. I never had a sibling, I don't know what it's like to have someone constantly watching your back but they do. She does and now he will and that's what I want for them right now."

"I'm not trying to condemn your parenting Emma." His voice was soft and regretful, It wasn't his fault, it was her own guilt. She hadn't been doing it right for god knows how long and she felt good about it all for once.

"I know, but I actually feel like I did it right today and no one seems to agree." She whined.

"I take it the queen was opposed to the idea also?" His eyebrow quirk wasn't even enough to pull the stench of failed parenting out of the air. _Despite how cute it always was. _

"Yeah, maybe you should have had Lily with her." Emma mumbled under her breath, dropping her head to the table.

"She wouldn't be nearly as beautiful, nor magical." He whispered in his raspy tone. She rose her head to find his face much closer as he leant over the table. Kissing him would be right, if it didn't mean doing everything wrong. If only she could have done it a week ago, cursed his lips before Emma had a second chance to realize how good they felt against her own.

"How did Zelena curse you lips?" As if the ceiling were a shower head and ice cold water rushed over him as he jumped back from her. "That bad?" She sat up, ready for the onslaught of disappointment.

"It's a long story." He explained. "Much too long for now."

"Killian?" His mouth opened as if he were ready to fold when the door swung open, exposing a frazzled librarian carrying one too many books.

"EMMA!" She was completely out a breath as she allowed the books to topple over, leaving one on the table as she frantically flipped pages in front of Emma. "I found it. We have to tell Regina and the others."

"Okay, slow down Belle, what did you find?" Emma spoke evenly, a bit annoyed by another intrusion, but she's working on not having hostile feelings towards the woman who saves her family.

"Zelena's plan." Belle was still panting, her eyes now recognizing Emma wasn't the sole being in the diner. Killian nodded solemnly for her to continue. "I figured out what she's doing."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She has a sense of adventure. Sometimes, it appears from left field but the strong urge to do something out of her comfort zone makes her feel more at home than anything. She never wants to be boring, never wants to be ordinary. So Lily promised herself if she got a rush in her bones, she'd oblige.

It doesn't concern her that she's running against the wind until Henry is panting beside her, silently begging her to slow down. She makes a mental note to stay active on the long summers they spend in New York. Henry can barely keep up with an eight year-old. It's not very heroic.

"Lily, where are we going? It's not the diner, not the castle, not even the clock tower. Where are we headed?"

"Secret."

"Secrets don't make friends."

"We don't have to be friends, we're family." She grinned deviously as she ducked under the barrier of wooden stocks. "C'mon Henry, it'll be fun."

"I swore to myself I wouldn't go anywhere with you that your dad doesn't know about. He's a different kind of scary when he's angry. They always say 'watch out for the silent ones.'

"He's not silent, just brooding. It's a pirate thing, I assume." Lily guided her brother through the empty barn, noting how much of a shortcut this would be. "Anyway, he won't be mad because Mom said she trusted my judgement."

"No, she said Killian needed to trust hers and she trusted that you learned your lesson."

"What?" Lily stopped in her tracks, taking a moment to ponder that conversation. "Is that what she meant?"

"Yeah, she meant it as a warning, not a compliment."

"Well, conversations are in the eye of the beholder, I got something else entirely and I don't think I'll be penalized for it." Lily shrugged and continued to walk toward the back door.

"I do." Henry mumbled under his breath. "Besides, I'm the oldest. I should be guiding you down the right path, not following you to the depths of Hell-o! What is that?" Henry shouted, pointing at the stable behind the barn door. Lily pushed the doors wide open, proudly grinning at where they've traveled.

"The stable." Lily said in a nonchalant style. "What does it look like?"

"My next mistake. Are there horses in there?" Henry moved slowly toward the entrance.

"Not for long, we're going to ride them."

"We don't know how to ride horses."

"Speak for yourself. I have a steed back home." Lily crossed her arms defensively. "He's a beauty, brown as chocolate with a mane the color of my own. Grandpa says he'll tell me when it's time to ride, but I brush him twice a week." Henry deadpanned for a stretched moment.

"Look, I'm putting my foot down." Henry scolded. "As absolutely awesome as this sounds, I refuse to let either of us get trampled by animals today. I'm your older brother. I should be more responsible."

"You're really getting into this older brother role." Lily rolled her eyes and pouted. "I don't want a babysitter here, I want to have fun. If we get caught, blame me. They'll believe you, I'll own up to it."

"No. I don't want them to blame you. I want you to stop doing things that make your dad afraid for you." Henry guided Lily back through the barn the way they came, her feet were like lead, trudging along in defiance. "What you did yesterday, the way he looked at the playground was so sad, I don't want to stand witness to that ever again. Did you ever even apologize to either of them? I thought Mom was going to throw up."

"Why would I apologize?" Lily grumbled.

"Do we need to sit down and discuss it?" Henry wasn't asking so much as suggesting she should be smart enough to know why. She was smart enough to know that the things that make you feel better won't always make people proud but you have to do things for you sometimes. Lily was doing something for her. This whole thing had been about doing things for others and now she's in the past with nothing accomplished, she took a chance on what being selfish would get her.

It got her courage.

"Mommy's been hurt before. She's been hurt enough times and has gotten no closure out of any of them. Daddy's been hurt too. It hurts my heart to see the pain still flash in his eyes when he thinks about Liam. This man hurt me. Instead of me swallowing the pain and letting it break me for the next who knows how long, I get to be who I am. I get to be the Lily I want to be, eager to meet new people and happy to have a life full of people who love me. He didn't take that away. I won't be closed off because I know not every person is evil. He is and the things that happened were not my fault."

"You didn't learn that from Mom or Killian though, you learned that from a monster?"

"I learned that from myself."

"I still want you to do me a favor and apologize for scaring them. Especially your dad. Lily I've never seen someone love their child as much as he loves you." Henry expressed with the upmost seriousness. "And now, with you telling me that he's only just met you, that he hasn't had you for the last eight years, he deserves better than sneaking off and not being sorry about it."

"What do you want me to say?" Lily argued. "'I'm sorry that I did what I thought was best and you didn't like it?' C'mon, Henry that's crap. I shouldn't have to feel remorseful right now." Lily moved her eyes from his, glancing around the barn in the quickly dimming light. If they didn't leave now, they'd be blanketed by starlight on the walk home. With her luck, she'd probably be expected to apologize for that too.

"Do this for me. Tell him that you didn't realize how traumatic the idea of talking to a man who stole your father's hand and the life of his first love could be." All the kindness drained from his voice, leaving a distasteful tone.

"Mom told you all of that?" Lily whipped her head back to view him.

"Yeah." He raised a commanding eyebrow and Lily want nothing more than to be rid of the Henry that wants to tell her what to do.

"But she failed to mention that the man is also your grandfather?" Lily meant to mumble it lowly or say it in her head, but it came out loud and aggressive.

"MY WHAT?" Henry glared daggers at Lily, his chest rising and falling with the spastic beat of Lily's own heart. "He's my grandfather?"

"Neal's dad."

"He killed someone, my grandfather killed someone. "

"You're so worried about Daddy being a villain, but Gold's the creator of all the villains I've ever known. He bends and breaks people. Makes them evil. He could have done that to me." In Lily's head, she was to the point of no return. They were going to have it out and she ignored all the signs that said 'go back now.' It takes a lot to get Henry angry but from the look in his gaze, he's certainly there now.

"What did you need to see him about?" Henry spoke evenly, but he was boiling on the inside, Lily could tell by the twitch in his eyebrow and the fidgeting of his hand.

"It's not any concern of yours." she replied snottily.

"Lily, I'm not joking around anymore." Henry warned. "What did you need to see him for?"

"He made me come here, okay? He told me things that made me think I had no choice but to come and I believed it, and when I finally thought better of it, he threatened Dad's life."

"Right, so then you thought 'oh, let me go see a mass murderer.'" Henry growled angrily. "And you walked yourself into his house, this man, who couldn't even come to my dad's funeral, and you decided what? To tell him that he messed with the wrong eight year-old?"

"Stop it." Lily demanded. "I didn't go to his house, I went to his cage. He was locked in a cage, he couldn't hurt me."

"HE CAN HURT YOU!" Henry shouted. "Don't you get that you're not invincible? No one lives forever Lily, anyone can be killed. Anyone. Even Superman has a weakness and the smartest of villains know it very well."

"Well, he won't hurt me." Lily replied viciously.

"You think that you're so strong Lily." Henry spit. "You're so naive."

"And you're rude." Lily combatted. "I may be naive, but you're a 40 year-old man trapped in a twelve year-old's body. I might not be young forever, but I don't have to grow up over night because I've witnessed tragedy. Maybe you should take a lesson from me."

"I can't believe i'm having this argument with you because your parents are too sensitive to the fact that you're emotional. If I were your dad, you wouldn't be grounded, you'd be buried right next to mine for the crap you pulled. What the heck were you thinking?"

"If only you had your memories, you'd know exactly how reckless you've been before. You have no right to shout at me over something I did for you in the first place!"

"For me?"

"This whole thing was for you! I thought you didn't want my dad. I thought you wanted yours so I came back to save yours. I came back because your evil grandfather manipulated me into it."

"Did I tell you that?" Henry whispered slowly. "Did I come to you in the future and ask you to do that myself?"

"No, but Gold said tha-"

"If we're as close as you say," he interrupted "You should have gone directly to me Lily, you don't believe what anyone says I told them. Ever! You tell me. I'm your brother. I've waited what I thought was my entire life for someone else to be there. A little brother or sister and I can't believe you would think for one minute that I'd prefer you to risk your life and save someone else."

"It's not someone else, it's your dad."

"Killian is my dad. That's what you said isn't it? He tries so hard for me to feel normal, with a family and two parents who love me. Why on earth would you think I'd give that up? If I ever had anyone show me they love me as much as your dad loves you, I wouldn't for a moment feel the need to change it."

"He does love you that much, Henry." Lily whispered, a frog forming in her throat. "Mom loves you too, she loves you now, she's just not all flower-talk and poetry like Dad. He writes us letters on Wednesdays to get us through the rest of the week and she does the same thing by picking up our favorite ice cream or making sure our favorite sweaters are washed and hung up. They both love us. Mom loves you just as much Henry. She loves you and he loves you and I love you so if I hear that you're hurting I want to help you."

"I'm the older brother Lily. I help you, I'm the older brother. And Mom is the mom and Killian is the dad and you are the baby so just play the freaking role and stop trying to be everyone's hero." Henry rubbed a hand aggressively down his face like her father always did when he was losing an argument. "Be a kid, be a sweet little kid who likes to play pretend and tell stories. Don't do death-defying things and poke dragons okay? The people who love you are losing their minds with your recklessness." Henry was exasperated, his chest still heaving as he tore angrily at the flesh on his bottom lip with his teeth. "You can't keep this crap up. It's not okay, we need to go back, do as they want and be the kids. You need to be a kid."

"I'm not a baby Henry. I'm wise beyond my years." Lily answered, tears prickling at her eyes as she watched her brother tear into her.

"It's not exactly wise to run into danger every chance you get. Your dad lost everyone he ever loved before my mom. You want him to keep losing people? Do you have any idea what that would do to him?"

"No I don't want him to lose me." Lily growled. "I want Gold to know he can't hurt him. I didn't save Neal and because of that, he is going to try and kill Dad."

"Listen to me Lily, listen to the words I'm saying because you're not getting it." Henry guided Lily's shoulders, staring straight into her eyes. "You are the daughter, the little girl, the younger sister. You don't save anyone!"

"Why do people keep saying that?"

"Because it's true. You're eight."

"I know how old I am Henry!" Lily shook herself from his grasp. "It doesn't change anything. I don't have magic to waste it on watching the people I love get hurt."

"I don't want you saving the world right now. I want you to be a kid. I want you to be a happy kid."

"I would be happiest if I didn't have the fear of my father dying in the back of my mind."

"And you think I want the fear of my sister dying? And then losing Killian? No. No one wants to think about the people they love dying, but risking your life only puts that fear at the forefront. Will you just stop it already Lily? It's not okay. The things you're doing are not okay."

"Instead of telling me how everything isn't okay, why don't you start reassuring me that they will be? Who are you these days?"

"DO YOU THINK I KNOW?" Henry screamed. He screamed so loud the anxious rhythm in Lily's gut stilled, her heart along with it. Lily's eyes widened as she took a step away from him. Tears fluttered past her defense, and she hated to cry during arguments, they only made her feel like she was losing. Still, with him this angry she knew she wasn't winning anything.

"Henry." Lily whimpered. "Stop yelling at me."

"I'm sorry." his shoulders dropped in defeat. "I'm sorry, Kid. I don't know who I am these days. Everything I believed is a lie and I'm trying to just go with it. I'm trying to be what you say I am, your brother, and Killian's stepson and everything I'm supposed to be but I don't know how. People aren't born the way they end up. It takes years and memories of important events and I don't have that. I have hours. I'm sorry. I thought big brothers cared."

"They do."

"That's all I'm doing Lily. I'm caring." Henry explained, moving closer to her, his hand reached out, knuckles brushing gently across her dampened cheeks. "I hope you know I care about you so much."

"You learn to care without yelling."

"If you think that my older self isn't going to rip you a new one when you get back to your own time, Kid, you're sorely mistaken." Henry chuckled dryly, pulling her completely into his embrace. "I'm sorry Lily, I don't want to scream and shout but you have to know what you're doing is scaring everyone. The idea of the man who hurt your dad hurting you is frankly not something that helps me sleep at night."

"The idea of him hurting Dad again doesn't help me either." Lily confessed. "I know it was reckless and not exactly planned but I don't regret it. I feel better Henry. If you could have seen the fear in his eyes. I'm a force Henry, not a baby and no age limit is going to hold that down." She pulled out of his arms to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry to scare you. To scare everyone, but nothing scares me more than losing Dad."

"This is going to be something we have to agree to disagree with then." Henry folded with a long sigh. "Still, please apologize to Killian. He deserves more than that guilt trip crap you pulled on him yesterday. 'but don't you believe in me Daddy'" Henry mocked in a small feminine voice. "You know that would get him, I saw the relief in your eyes when he walked away."

"Okay. Maybe I did, I'll apologize." Lily took her brother's hand in her own, gripping it tightly as she moved out of the barn. "We better get back to Granny's before they lose it all over again."

"Yeah, how far are we from town?"

"Only seconds if we teleport." Lily smiled mischievously. Before Henry could say anything they were engulfed in white beaming lights.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_"No one__'__s ever been able to cast a spell to go back in time."_

This was the first time. This actually happens, Zelena succeeds in casting this spell, she has to, that's why Lily is waiting to go home, she casts the spell, opens the portal and somehow Emma and Killian go through it.

She can't understand now why she never asked before. If she had to guess she'd blame it on her lack of parental skill or infinite need to only focus on the moment at hand because the future, be it a week or year, really freaks her out.

It's his hand on her back that brings her back to reality. She rises from her crouched position in front of her mother and meets his eyes dead on.

"Swan?"

"I know. We'll talk to her." She stated like she was more confident than she was. "Regina?" Emma turned back to face the former queen. "It's evident she succeeds right? Lily wouldn't be here if she didn't."

"Miss Swan there's really no telling." Regina confessed with so much uncertainty in her voice. "I think we all need to have a sit down with your daughter. She hasn't exactly expressed her plans in detail, how she'll erase her from our memories, how she'll get home."

"We don't want to overwhelm her." Killian addressed the matter from Lily's side as always. "Besides, she shouldn't be responsible for doing all the planning. She is only a child, your Highness." The typical bad boy that he was always pulled out the faux-politeness by using Regina's title when he was blatantly disagreeing with her. The problem is Emma needed him to agree this time.

"Killian, Regina is right and I frankly don't trust myself to ask the right questions." Emma supplied an apologetic smile but he stood stoic and unfazed. He could give a damn about her apologies where Lily was concerned.

"The only person I can think of who would…is tied to Zelena's leash right now." Regina sighed, rubbing the tension from her forehead. Emma should have prepared herself for the backslash. She'll ask herself why she didn't reach out for him the way he would have her if the roles reversed. By the time the thought truly crossed her mind, he was flying off the handle.

"There is no bloody way in Hell that crocodile is looking at her, let alone badgering her with questions!" He rejected "If you can't come up with them they won't bloody well be asked." Killian finalized his declaration by leaving the study and heading down the staircase.

"Killian!" Emma shouted after him to no avail. "Dammit." She muttered under her breath. "If you're coming then you better trudge on, he's not liable to wait for anyone right now."

"Why is he so angry?" Mary Margaret asked as she rose from the armchair, with the assistance of her husband. Emma sighed as she moved toward the door.

"It's a long story, Belle can tell you on the way." Emma nodded curtly at the librarian before moving on out of the room.

Emma hastily tracked him down about 50 feet from Regina's front yard. Who knew a pirate covered in 50 pounds of leather could move so quickly. She reached him, overexerting herself to keep up with his swift pace. She hooked her arm through his, bending her elbow to stay supported, but he only ended up practically dragging her the rest of the way.

Thank god for Lily that she was actually in the diner where she was meant to be this time. God only knows the pure Hell this man would have brought down on them all over her tonight. The brunette sat on top of the bar as Henry sat beside her swinging feet on a stool. Ruby was just coming out of the kitchen with a can of whipped cream when Emma and Killian stormed through.

"Hey guys." Ruby smiled. "Should I add two more cocoa's?"

"No. Thank you though." Emma smiled graciously at the waitress as Killian pulled from her reach and maneuvered directly beside Henry and in front of his daughter.

"Are you both okay?" He sounded breathless which was a wonder to Emma because he seemed so in shape during their half-mile jog to the diner. Killian's finger hooked under Henry's chin, drawing his face toward the dim light of the diner. "No trouble. You appear healthy, have you eaten? Was there trouble?" Henry shook his head gently, keeping wide and watchful eyes on the pirate.

"We're good." He mumbled. "Ruby got us some pie and cocoa."

"That's good." Emma added, moving to Killian's side. She tried to coax him into a more relaxed state as her hand moved gently down his shoulder. It worked well enough for him to release the soft tension of his finger against Henry's chin. "Lily, you were good Today too?"

"What's wrong with Daddy?" Lily asked lowly as she watched her father carefully. "You seem… vexed."

"No." Killian leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to Lily's brow. "Just worried for you, constantly. That's all."

"Told you." Henry mumbled as he turned his head from Killian.

"Told her what?" Killian rested his hand on Henry's shoulder. "Lad I can assure you, I've been just as worried about you all day."

"Ha." Lily cheered. "Told. You." She bit back a grin as she watched Henry's reaction.

"I told Lily she needed to apologize to you for doing crazy things and making you worry for her." Henry spoke after a hard swallow.

"Oh." Killian nodded thoughtfully. "Well, the thing about me is I tend to forgive people before they apologize." Emma purposely ignored his nod in her direction as she maneuvered around him to sit on the stool on Lily's other side.

"Great." Emma intervened with a mind to change subjects. "Anyhow, Lily, Regina is on her way with the others. Belle discovered Zelena's plan, which you already knew about of course." Lily evaded Emma's gaze. "She has a lot of questions. It's going to get interrogation-like in here. You know how those go right? You're innocent, but Regina can sometimes sound accusatory. She doesn't mean it, we're all on your side, but we do need to know some things."

"Should I pull down the chairs?" Ruby questioned, almost startling Emma since she forgot for a moment they were in the diner and not their living room.

"We can go upstairs to the sitting room." Emma offered. "We are already here after hours."

"It's fine, really. You know we're always open for the savior." Ruby smiled graciously. "What can I do to help?"

"To-go cups?" Henry suggested. "Apparently we have little time to stay and eat." Ruby nodded, returning to the kitchen without another word.

"What questions?" Lily asked hesitantly. "I don't wanna talk about Gold anymore, Mom. I really don't."

Emma met her daughters anxious expression with one of her own. She didn't want her to talk to Gold either. She didn't want to even say the man's name at fear he might show up like Beetlejuice. The man was a monster in Emma's eyes, whether he committed the crime yet or not. She wanted nothing from him, so she hoped Regina could figure it all out alone.

Still, in her experience, Regina did few things without Gold's supervision.

"Baby, Belle is going to talk to everyone about that."

"You made her do that?" Lily furrowed her brows disapprovingly. "Mom, she loves him, she doesn't wanna talk about what her future husband does wrong."

"What?" Henry set down his fork and stared at Lily in shock. "Belle, your godmother is my grandmother?"

"Well, not… you know Henry, we could sit all day stroking your family tree or, we could just assume that everyone in this town is a big family."

"I'd hardly call him family. And who is Zelena?" Henry frowned. "This whole thing is a never-ending headache." It pained Emma to watch her son massage his temples in exhaustion.

Emma didn't realize he was struggling with that aspect of it. He seemed excited almost when they last talked. Now he's having headaches and grumbling and _wait… grandpa?_

"You told him Gold was his grandfather?" Emma groaned. "Never mind, this conversation is getting away from me. Lily, bottomline, there's going to be some questioning about the future and how you're getting back."

"Oh." Lily nodded but her eyes told a different story.

"I thought you said you knew how you were getting back." Emma persisted.

"When I said that, I did know. No lie told, I promise." Lily smiled weakly. "That's actually how I ended up at the storm cellar to begin with. I was just going to ask where the wand was but…"

At that moment the diner door swung open. Emma turned to find exactly who she was expecting, thankfully. A monkey or a witch would be too much at this point. Belle walked through with a half-hearted smile. Emma's parents followed, Mary Margaret still caressing her belly with worry and Regina tailed in with her discouraging signature frown.

"Gang's all here." Emma moved to get up, but before she could she was greeted by the arms of her father.

"Why didn't you tell us?" David mumbled against her ear. "We would have been there for you."

"It hasn't happened yet." Emma shrugged, tugging out of the hug. "There's nothing to be there for."

"It's happened to Lily, it's happened."

"Well, don' worry about it." Emma dismissed, as much as Lily didn't want to rehash this, Emma didn't want to twice as badly. It only made her feel like a terrible mom. It reminded her that she chose to tell Belle first and that although Lily promises they're close, she didn't come to her with this before venturing into the whole thing hurt in places Emma didn't want to discuss with her parents.

"We're here for you too." Mary Margaret whispered to Killian, her hand smoothing over the leather on his bicep. "We're family." Killian stood stunned but Henry picked up for him.

"Apparently." Henry added with a grin. "I guess you're my grandparents?"

"You… remember?" Regina moved past David and Mary Margaret, sliding Killian back a few steps in the process of reaching Henry. "You remember your life here."

Emma forgot all about Regina. She purposely left out the truth about Henry's adoption. She didn't want to get into it, it was too hard but she didn't once think about the repercussions. Regina would be livid. Henry gets to know who his sister is, his grandparents but not her, there's no way this would end well.

"Not even a little bit." Henry expressed grimly. "But I know that Lily is my sister, from the future and—"

"Regina." Emma stood quickly, reaching for Regina's arm. "He doesn't know everything."

"You mean he doesn't know me." Regina corrected.

"You're Lily's aunt… her mother's…foster sister?" Henry struggled to piece it together.

"Henry." Emma tried to stop the snowball from growing but with each passing second they got closer and closer to disclosing things Emma wasn't willing to discuss Tonight.

"Right." Regina nodded defeatedly. "Your… aunt, too. We were close." She smiled but the heartbreak was evident and the guilt was present in Emma's gut quicker than she could apologize for it.

"I'm sorry." Emma whispered. "We'll figure out how to get him his memories."

"Right." Regina stepped away from Henry, moving to pick Lily up off the counter. "Right now, we have something else to figure out, Princess." Lily agreed with a sigh, pressing her forehead to Regina's with intention to comfort. Emma watched regrettably as Lily ran her fingers through Regina's hair and whispered words of encouragement. Regina nodded quickly and lifted Lily off toward the back. "The sitting room, I presume?" The Mayor called back and the crowd followed.

Henry and Killian lingered behind momentarily. It wasn't until Ruby appeared with two to-go cups that Emma realized what Henry was there for.

"Thank you Ruby." Henry beamed brightly. "Lily said you were 'Red Riding Hood' and the 'Big Bad Wolf in one?'"

"Yeah, can you imagine, now I'm just a waitress." She laughed awkwardly.

"No… you're all three." Henry confirmed. "Lily says everyone has two lives, and they get to be both." Ruby's eyes lit up at his words.

"Yeah, you're right. We're both. And when you get your memories back, you get to be both too."

"Yeah. Okay." Henry agreed. "Thanks again." And with that, he head off in the direction of the others.

They were both. Which meant Emma was both too. She was the hardened savior with a tragic past, and New York Emma, who allows herself to fall in love.

At the right moment Killian reached out for Emma's hand as Ruby retreated to the back once more. Emma was a little caught off guard, he wasn't one to initiate much but the gesture was more comforting than he's been all day. She tried to focus on the contrast of warm flesh and cool rings, instead of the contrast of determination to get in there and get answers, and the reluctancy of getting in there and being reintroduced to the heartbreak in her son's mother's eyes. As he moved her toward the back, she found herself concentrating most on the promises his skin against hers made. _Together, Always._

XXXXXXXXXX

Regina sat beside Lily, cradling her hands with a reassuring smile on her face. Lily tried to reciprocate the gesture but just ended up squinting with discomfort. She hated being on trial. She knew it wouldn't be the last time, and God knows it surely wasn't her first. Her mother was Sheriff for God sakes. She was practically interrogated nightly. _Did you do your homework? Who checked it? Did you eat your lunch or did you trade it again? Did you forget to make your bed this morning? Why did you take the long way home from the library? Did you put your shoes away? Did you practice magic again without permission? Did you really think that was a good idea? Lillian? Lily? Lillian, Baby? _

At this rate, she'd be the ready for jeopardy in a year. She had to know the answer to every question ever asked to anyone ever if her mom had her way. She learned a while back to just smile the entire time. _Do you have an attitude? _Yeah, smiling was best.

So she smiled with a discomforting squint as Regina held her hands and began asking the questions Lily didn't actually have the answers to.

"Honey, I need to know the basics. I know it's not ideal to learn too much about the future…" Regina paused with a fragile focus on the door. Lily turned to find Henry sneaking in. He sat beside her, placing her cocoa on the coffee table in front of them.

"Sorry, go on." He whispered apologetically.

"Right. I just… did you have a plan on getting back. Did you and Mr. Gold discuss how you'd go home?" Regina's tone was sweet but the worry in her eyes didn't go unnoticed.

"The wand that took me. He said it wouldn't work until Zelena's spell was cast. I'd have to wait until after everything." Regina nodded with a thoughtful pause.

"And how was the timeline going to remained undamaged?" Lily wasn't sure how to explain it, they weren't yet familiar with the concept, but she figured if she just went for it, they'd catch on, or pretend to.

"Rock trolls have a method, it's uhm… a memory stone. I pull the memories from the town and put them in a stone."

"Rock trolls?" Regina was colored confused with that one. Lily knew it wasn't a familiar concept but Regina usually wasn't keen on appearing out of the loop.

"The entire town? Belle gasped. "That's an awful lot of magic for a small child."

"I have an awful lot of magic Belle." Lily raised a brow at the librarian. "Like, a lot of magic. Gold believed I was capable."

"Lily, I don't know." Belle continued to doubt her which was a new concept for Lily.

"Lillian's a marvel." The accented voice from the doorway gave her the reassurance she needed. She didn't have to turn to know her father entered the room. She did turn however to make sure her mother was present. She wasn't disappointed when she laid eyes on their joined hands, moving closer to them and setting on the sofa across from Lily and Regina. "Have faith."

"It's not faith I'm lacking, it's ignorance." Belle replied. "I can't pretend to not know who the rock trolls are. It took the magic of all of them to remove the memories of Arendelle, and you are a very gifted child, Lillian. You know I believe that. I just fear how the force of what he's… _asked_ you to do will leave you. That's a lot of magic for your small frame. You'll be almost lifeless afterward."

That's a consequence, a price. Gold explained the price. He was a crook and a monster, but he wasn't a liar. He explained the cost and Lily understood it. He would have mentioned that the power needed afterward would be enough to drain her.

"He wouldn't… He would have told me that. He explained I wouldn't exist, I'm sure he would have told me that." Lily swallowed painfully. She felt the reverberating sense of betrayal choke her up.

"Sweetheart, no." Regina sighed, squeezing Lily's hand. "Was there an alternative?"

"No." Lily whispered, eyes widening with realization. Gold didn't just send her here to save his son, he sent her here on a whim. She was unprepared and the confidence she felt after leaving the storm cellar faded from her all too quickly.

"Did you find the wand?"

"No." Lily breathed.

"So… just so we're clear on this, honey, you don't have a Plan B and Plan A is no longer an option?" Regina kept her tone even but it didn't help. Lily felt fragile and misguided all over again.

"What did I do?" She whimpered.

"Darling, don't fret." Killian attempted but fretting was the best she could do at this point. She had no idea how she was going to get home.

"I went to the storm cellar to find out, yesterday, but I got so caught up, Gina." Lily sniffled. "I'm sorry and now I don't wanna go back."

"There's no way in Hell you're going back." Killian expressed.

"Back? To the storm cellar to talk to Gold?" Regina released Lily's hands to hold her shoulders.

"Lillian?" Belle rose from her arm chair. "That's where you went yesterday?"

"I just wanted to find the wand, Belle." Lily explained quickly. "That's all."

"That's not okay." Belle scolded.

"She knows that." Henry defended.

"Well, that doesn't make it go away." Regina argued. "He's going to be angry. They both will, do you know what they could have done to you?"

"She's been yelled at enough over it." Henry continued to protect his sister. "She doesn't need it anymore."

"I'm not yelling, Honey. I just want to express how absolutely dangerous it is." Regina attempted but Henry was already upset.

"I don't want her to keep reliving this." Henry explained. "Let's just not talk about that man."

"Henry I have to go home." Lily whimpered. "I don't know how I'm supposed to get home."

"Not through him." Henry dismissed. "We'll find another way."

"With all due respect, Henry." Which was rich because he was twelve, but Regina wanted him to like her. "I don't believe you're the most adept to find passage through time portals, dear."

"I don't care. We're not bringing him up again." Henry's reply was definitive.

"Henry." Emma finally spoke up, it's as if she were just watching from a screen at home. She hadn't participated once and it made Lily wonder if she even understood the repercussions of not getting home. "Look Kid, no one wants to make Lily any more upset. I promise you, every single person in this room has her best interests in mind, not just you."

"I'm not saying that." He gritted through clenched teeth. "I just feel guilty she's even here to begin with. This man took advantage of our relationship and it's not fair. I want to prove to everyone, that I'm not that type of brother. I won't risk her happiness for anything."

"That's very admirable, Henry" Killian complimented. "Anyone would be lucky to have you as an older brother, but like your mother said, everyone is here for Lily. I won't allow her happiness to be compromised anymore than you're willing to. Trust me." Just as always, Henry folded under Killian's guidance. He trusted Killian, he knew they thought similarly and valued Emma and Lily more than anything. They'd always have the best interests of their family in mind.

"Alright." Henry sighed, leaning back into the couch and sipping his cocoa in quiet.

"Alright." Killian nodded approvingly. "Regina, do you possess a 'Plan B?'"

"Well." Regina began with uncertainty. "If Emma uses her magic with Lily. She'll retain her memories and then I can make a potion, all Emma will have to do is swallow it and think of forgetting Lily. The only difference is where everyone will have the story Lily weaves, Emma will have holes."

"Why does it have to be her?"Lily asked timidly. What if the holes make her not fall in love with Killian? That's not something she wants to risk.

"Your magic is most similar. If I, or even the fairies try, it will only heighten the risk. I'm not certain if you've ever had a spell rebound Lily, but I've seen young witches become scarred over such things. I wouldn't dare allow that to happen to you, Princess." Regina brushed the dark wavy locks from her face lovingly and Lily got the idea that they were all trying harder now to prove to Henry that she was loved.

"What if 'holes' change who she becomes?" Lily doesn't want to come out and say it in front of her father. She doesn't want him to know she doubt their love.

Her father's a smart man.

"What you mean to say, Lilylove, is what if the holes keep her from falling in love with me." Emma's eyes widened, but she kept them beneath everyone's line of sight. Watching the floor anxiously, it was clear that was a fear they all shared.

"I'm sure that's not what she meant Killian." Mary Margaret spoke up, always the spokeswoman for true love. "Her magic proves that's not what she meant."

"Lillian?" Killian stared at her with dimming eyes.

"It's a possibility, is it not?" Lily huffed. Her heart broke a little bit upon viewing the distraught look of her father.

"Lillian, that's absurd." Mary Margaret began. "They are—"

"Is it?" Lily interrupted. She refocused on her recoiling mother. "Mom? Is it so absurd to believe that?"

"Lily." Emma shook her head slowly. "Have a little faith."

"Tell me it's absurd to think that." Lily stated low and slow. "Tell me that I'm not crazy to believe you might not feel the way you do without going through the motions of what made you two get together to begin with"

"Do you understand the concept of true love, Honey?" Mary Margaret continued but Lily really wasn't here for that. She wanted to hear her mom confirm her existence.

"I sorta need Emma to answer this one." She watched as the blonde physically took offense to the use of her first name.

"Lily, we're gonna happen." Emma expressed with less sweetness and a touch of irritation. "Me and your dad, it's a thing. Always has been. Okay? We're gonna happen. Don't worry."

"Mom, just sa-"

"I don't wanna talk about this okay, it's… it's true love okay, just trust me, alright?"

"Alright." Lily frowned.

"Anyway, we have this whole thing with memories figured out, where the hell is the wand?" Emma hurried along the conversation before anyone else could touch the topic.

Lily wasn't completely convinced, but she had to remember who her mother was. If she were asking her dad the same question, roles reversed, she'd get a speech comparing Emma to a summer's day or the ocean and how the sailor in him would rather drown than never taste saltwater on his lips again. Emma wasn't Killian though. Emma was quiet about feelings and believed actions didn't speak louder, so much as were done more easily than words. She's sitting in front of Lily, holding his hand and that should be enough faith.

"I could ask him." Belle suggested. "I mean, for the time being, our love is still true."

"He threatened to kill you and everyone else." Killian argued. "No."

"Well, you have a better suggestion then?" Belle raised a defiant brow but the captain in him surfaced immediately.

"This isn't actually a discussion, Belle." Killian began. "You are not to risk yourself, nor is anyone else. Surely there is a spell or potion to find missing items just as you find missing people."

"I'll have to check." Belle sighed in instant defeat.

"I'll help you." Regina smiled weakly at Belle.

"Great. We find the wand, do the rock spell thing and Lily goes home to her own time before the future versions of Killian and I completely lose it." Emma stood from the couch, releasing her future husband's hand as she did. "It's getting late, I wanna hear all about Henry and Lily's day and I'm sure you're all exhausted. We'll regroup tomorrow morning?"

"Not just yet, Emma." Regina held up her hand to stall Emma. "There are more things we need to sort out."

"Like what?"

"Like the safety of your husband when Lily does return home." Regina expressed in her signature snotty tone.

"Are you kidding?" Emma growled lowly, moving around the coffee table to reach Lily. "Don't bring it up right in front of her when she barely sleeps at night over it." Emma picked her daughter up quickly, turning her away from Regina before continuing. "Gold is just manipulating her, he's not actually going to try and kill him."

"Swan." Killian sighed, rising from the couch himself. "Regina's just trying to reassure her of that."

"Well, it's not a reassuring topic to speak about."

"Are you projecting your own discomfort here, or do you honestly think your daughter doesn't want to take the precautions to save her father's life?" Regina rose from the couch to a defensive stance herself.

"She is not to save anyone!" Killian's temper flared. "Stop perpetuating that it's her damn responsibility to do anything for a single soul on this earth, past, present or future."

"Dad!" Lily shouted at an attempt to stop Killian but it was highly unsuccessful as he continued to rip into Regina.

"She is a child. I've spent centuries among children who were being forced to grow up so quickly they fled from the idea all together." Killian explained angrily. "She has done more than enough aging in one week to last her the next ten years so everyone can refrain from this savior talk. She is to remain a child."

"I can be both."

"Lily." Now Henry was standing with more anger in his own eyes. "We talked about this."

"You talked, shouted even. Everyone is talking, no one is listening. This entire conversation was supposed to be about me answering questions but it seems that everyone else has their own things to discuss." Lily wrestled from Emma's arms, until her mother was forced to either set her down or risk her falling on her head. "Let's talk about the future, when I go back, I'm going to destroy that man. He's not hurting me, my dad, my family, my childhood again. I'm not afraid, I'm angry."

"Lillian, you'll do no such thing." Killian warned but she was tired of being commanded. She'd rather be grounded later than allow her father's fears to take his own life.

"Yes I will." Lily defiantly stood up against her father.

"You may not be afraid, but I am terrified." He confessed, crouching to her level and holding out his hand to her. She didn't realize she was looking for a fight until she felt disappointed for not getting one.

"What?" Lily kept her hands at her sides despite the need to reach out and grab his.

"If it isn't evident how precious and rare you are to me, let me remind you. You are everything and if anything were to happen to you, I'd never recover. I'm afraid that you're too compulsive for your own good. I'm afraid that your power isn't enough and I'm afraid of what happens if it is." Killian turned his palm up in surrender but Lily only stared at it blankly. "My love, there is nothing light about murder, regardless of how vile the villain is. There is only darkness and the darkness will only grow. There's not a shred of my existence that will ever be okay with your pure, light soul turning dark."

Lily nodded in agreement but she knew that the darkness from killing a crook like Gold was nothing compared to the vengeful state she'd be in if Gold killed her dad.

"I understand." Lily stated with strength despite the quake in her stomach. She wouldn't take his hand, she wouldn't shake on it. She had too much respect to lie to his face and tell him she wouldn't do what she knew she had to. She turned from him then, not willing to meet his eyes or continue a conversation that ends in empty promises. "Aunt Gina, can I sleep over Tonight?"

She had hidden motives for going over there, but the look of eagerness in Regina's eyes made her want to truly spend time with her aunt. She'd even where a princess dress to sleep if it kept up her spirits. The reality of the situation is slowly coming into Lily's view. Henry knows who she is, she and he spent the day together talking about the future. He even knows that David and Mary Margaret are his grandparents. He just doesn't know Regina is his mom, and that can't feel good. Maybe spending a little time with Regina would.

"You'd want to?" Regina seemed surprised but hopeful.

"If you'll have me." Lily beamed. "Besides, I think my parents and I need some space."

"Lily?" Emma gasped. "We don't need space."

"Well, I'd love for you to come, Princess." Regina ignored Emma completely, focused only on what she would achieve. "I could understand wanting to get a moment away."

"Thank you. I'm ready whenever you are."Lily smiled, but hearing her father's deep sigh as he rose from her level didn't help to keep the smile there.

"Lillian, are you kidding right now?" Emma was fuming. "You don't just leave your dad hanging. There's a room full of people here who love you and you don't walk out without saying goodbye to any of them."

"I told you, if I did what you do to your parents constantly, you'd have a fit." Lily fired back as she clasped Regina's arm and fled from the room. "Goodnight everybody."

XXXXXXXXX

After apologizing to everyone for Lily's behavior, Emma managed to get to her room with Henry and Killian tagging glumly behind. Their feet drug the entire way and it was a symphony of different sighs and groans, but the night was almost over.

"It's fine. She's moody. Whatever." Emma mumbled as she turned to witness the defeated sight of her boys. "Hey?" Henry barely rose his chin from his chest and Killian had been tugging at his hair for 30 feet now. "Guys?"

"I'll bid you both a goodnight." Killian sighed. "If there's any trouble, do ring me on the talking handle."

"Talking handle?" _Henry raised his head for that one, though. _

"It's a telephone, Killian." Emma groaned. "And I will. I promise." She met his sad eyes and wanted nothing more than to kiss him goodnight, but beyond the fact that they couldn't kiss, Henry was standing there and of course it still felt weird to openly interact with Killian on that level in front of anyone, especially her son.

"What trouble would happen?" Henry interrupted like he knew he was in her thoughts.

"Nothing to worry of, Lad." Killian spoke quietly. "Thank you for keeping your sister out of trouble Today. I'm confident you're a marvelous big brother."

"And you're a great dad." Henry clapped Killian on his shoulder. "I'm sure what my grandfather told Lily to get her to come here isn't true, Killian. I'm sure you're more than enough." Killian's eyes widened, his lips parting in amazement at Henry's compliment.

There was a minimal throat clear to cover the pure awe he was experiencing before he could reply. "Thank you for that Lad. That means much, much more than you could possibly understand." Even with the throat clear, his voice remained shaky. Henry smiled reassuringly at his future stepdad before removing his hand.

"I guess I'll let you guys say goodnight like married people do." Henry laughed awkwardly before letting himself into the room, leaving Emma and Killian alone once again.

The soft shutting of the door made Emma's nerves ignite. She wasn't entirely sure they'd be making out right now if he didn't have a curse over his head, but the want was all there. He stared at her intently, watching the very flutter of her lashes with mystery in his eyes.

"So." she began with no endpoint in mind. "Goodnight?"

"Aye, goodnight."

"Don't let this whole Lily thing bother you. She's just being eight."

"She's certainly ready to be nine, I'm sure. She's so exhausted by hearing her age every other moment in conversation. We didn't even allow her to speak for herself, Emma. We were so concerned over Regina overwhelming her but she chose the Queen over us Tonight." Killian expressed so quickly, as if she opened up floodgates for a vent session he more than deserved. Lily honestly has been putting him through Hell all week. It shows in the way he schools his temper at fear of pushing her away. It showed in the worry lines around his eyes, the bags underneath. The idea of her being afraid of losing him was almost comical in his eyes because he was the parent and he's only ever known loss.

"Killian." Emma smiled hopefully resting her hands on his shoulders. "Tomorrow morning, she'll be in your lap, calling you 'Daddy' and devastated to see you leave. I'm telling you, little girls are elastic. It's 300 year-old men you have to worry about. They get stuck on things." Emma snickered when she caught the corner of his mouth rise slightly.

"Alright." He nodded. "Then I guess the only other concern right now is whether or not you would have kissed me goodnight, as 'married people' do." Emma bit her bottom lip to hide the grin forming, but she knew there was nothing she could do to hide the blush in her cheeks.

In hindsight, she should have known from the moment she entered this town, read the storybook and started to believe in fairytales; The Lost Princess can only fall in love during the most chaotic of times. And when she's forty with an eight year-old sitting on her lap, she'll tell her that it still felt like time was slowing down just for her to enjoy the very quietest of moments with him.

"I don't believe married people kiss like we do." Emma replied as coyly as she could muster when the intense buzzing in her ears had her blood vibrating. "But, I think we could have worked something out."

That's when the pirate licked his lips, turning to the side to place a kiss on the hand covering his right shoulder. His lips had a tense lingering pressure, no doubt a sample of the passion he would have kissed her 'goodnight' with. She had to remind herself to close her mouth.

"The temptation is crippling, love." He smirked. "I should take my leave. Goodnight, Swan."

"Goodnight, Jones." Emma slid her hands down from his shoulders, across his chest before dropping them at her sides. "We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Aye."


	13. Chapter 11: Caged

A/N: One, I wanted to update sooner but I also wanted to give myself time to catch up and get back on schedule. There are only a few more chapters after this. I want to present them as best I can.

A couple things:

I reference Maya Angelou in this chapter. I also reference her work _Caged Bird. _I should say, Lily references it. I understand that Lily isn't pulling from the work the same thing that a mass market of readers do. I just want to clarify that I'm aware and I hope no one leaves offended.

Thank you again for any and all support, faves, follows, reviews. I am also open for PM if theres anything you wish to discuss.

YAY! Happy Once Day Everybody! It's been a long(short) hiatus. I love us as a fandom for getting through it!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own OUAT but I used a small bit of dialogue and I owe this show my heart.

_**Chapter 11: Caged**_

"Lily" A soft voice gently pulled Lily from her sleep. Gentle, but not nearly familiar enough for her to feel at home again. She waited for an accent to float through but there wasn't one, just the same gentle voice. "Lillian, Princess, let's wake up."

_Regina. _

Somewhere between sleep and awake she lost sight of her surroundings. She slowly realized the scents were less recognizable. The voice was not her mother's and the sun in her bedroom would have not drifted in but blared through as her window faced east, toward the tides. She allowed her eyes to flutter open, familiarizing herself with Henry's old dwellings once more.

"Good morning." Lily yawned as she turned to face the doorway where Regina stood. It was always a pleasure to see her this way, dressed down in flannel pajama bottoms and a camisole. Her hair not perfectly combed through but messy and wavy like Lily's. Her smile was brighter when there wasn't a layer of vampy lipstick brushed across it.

"Good morning my Princess." Regina beamed. "We have a little time before we're due back at Granny's. I could make some pancakes, or french toast."

"Oh, please!" Lily rose from her back, stretching out. The oversized shirt she borrowed from Henry's closet slipped off of her shoulder. When Regina offered for her to wear some things of his instead of just conjuring herself some, she didn't hesitate to agree. These are pieces of her brother she was never privy to before.

"Great. I'll go get started, you'll come join shortly?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Lily nodded eagerly. Regina sent her one last smile before moving on from the doorway. Lily rose from the bed to the sound of Regina's steps floating down the staircase. She readjusted Henry's shirt on her shoulders as she turned, preparing to make his bed the way he's so gosh darn uptight about. She even tucked the corners hospital style like he likes.

She stepped away from the bed and toward the closet. She knows Regina would throw her in yet another princess gown given the chance, but Lily liked to dress a little more 'boyish' when the days called for adventure and danger. Maybe she could borrow flannel, since her family was so set on plaid.

Henry's closet was filled with boxes of books and old toys he must have aged up from over the years. Above were hanging, in perfect chromatic order, an array of shirts, sweaters and flannels. It was the East Coast, any little boy without a flannel or two would certainly meet their death. She pulled down a red, white and black one. She didn't hesitate to use her magic once more to dress herself in riding boots, leggings and Henry's oversized shirt.

She knows she would never be allowed to be this liberal with magic back home. She knows she would never be allowed to do half the things she's done since reaching this time. The way she wanders about, how she sneaks off, talks back to her parents, goes up against villains. She knows she's wrong for all of it, but if she can't get home, what's it to her?

Lily knows more than anything she'd never be allowed to be this doubtful. The reality of her situation is one they'd blame on her attitude. She hasn't been her hopeful self, but a discouraged, damaged version who believes fate fails and lives are lost for no reason. She's allowed herself to drift so far from her roots, she's doubting the people who love her and trusting the demons that plague her. She never wanted to be his puppet, she'd rather be her father's daughter than the savior any day. Somewhere she lost sight of that.

Standing in front of the full length mirror on the back of Henry's door, she can see the light missing from her own eyes. She's determined to get it back one way or another. If there's one thing she knows, it's her happiness lies within her family's arms. She's going home.

Lily finally makes her way to the kitchen, the smell of nutmeg and her Aunt Gina's homemade maple syrup fill her senses. It's not that this place isn't home, it's just not hers to have yet. Despite how well these people are doing at making her feel at home, there's more lacking than the grays of her father's mane and the deepened laugh lines in her mother's smile.

"There you are." Regina shined a toothy grin. "That's an interesting choice, I don't think Henry's worn that shirt in years."

"No, I suppose not." Lily looked down at her clothing, waiting patiently for the nagging over not wearing a ball gown to breakfast.

"Well, it looks adorable on you." She brushed her knuckles lovingly across Lily's face before going back to work at the griddle. "Why don't you pull down some glasses and pour a little juice for us?"

"Alright." Lily moved slowly, analyzing the simplicity of Regina's happiness. There had to be a full loaf of bread beside the griddle, and although Lily was famished, she wasn't about to eat four helpings herself. "Are we having company?"

"Well,_ you_ are company." Regina let out a cheeky laugh.

"Uh huh." Lily narrowed her eyes, zeroing in on plates beside her aunt. "So, four glasses then?"

"I hope you don't mind." Regina turned slowly, guilt fluttering across her features. "I did invite Robin and Roland for breakfast before you requested to come over last night. They're not the easiest to get a hold of, so I wasn't able to cancel."

"Yeah, Gina, it's wonderful. I eat breakfast with you all twice a week." Lily shrugged before realizing that wasn't something she discussed with Regina previously.

"You do?" The shock in her voice may have played up on Lily's current need to hide her face from the smirk forming.

"Soulmates tend to get married." Lily mumbled as she moved to the fridge to grab the juice.

"Right." Regina turned back to her cooking with a different kind of smirk staining her own face. "So you get along with Roland then, in the future?"

"Yeah, I love Roland. He's getting older now though." Lily frowned as she set her jug on the counter. "He's too old to play saviors and dragons with me. He plays video games with his older friends but he promised we're still getting married when we're much older."

"Oh god." Regina chuckled turning to meet a death glare from Lily. "I mean, oh good." She covered pinching her lip between her teeth to stop the laugh. "Good that you've already found true love. It takes a lifetime for some."

"Three if you're my dad."

XXXXXXXX

After a deliciously fun breakfast, Lily had a craving for her father's affections and a need to apologize to her mother for the things she said last night. It worked out since Regina had a meeting with the scooby gang in the same meeting room they occupied the night before. Robin promised to take Roland, Lily and Henry out shooting with the merry men. He had a few rubber arrows they could practice with but Lily was certain she'd convince him she was ready for the big leagues herself.

She just had one thing to do first.

The hallway was more crowded than she expected, with Regina and Robin saying goodbye, Ruby making her housekeeping rounds and a few newly arrived Fairytale characters sorting out their morning rituals, Lily had quite a few bodies to weave through. It wasn't until she passed the Aurora and Phillip blocking the way without any intention of moving, she realized no one was actually moving. They were all frozen in place and Lily had just managed to escape whatever spell it was.

That's when she heard his voice. _Gold. _

Outside of her father's room. She peered around the corner to find two apes walking upright despite their wings, dragging out a struggling man. Her dad. Lily wanted to shout, to scream but Gold could hurt her now. He wasn't in a cage, he was in her father's face. He could and would hurt them both now.

Every pore in her flesh was filled with needles. Her magic was sizzling under the surface. She had two choices, run in there, setting herself on fire or do what children do, what everyone is telling her to do, and get an adult.

She said she'd do better, do what she knows she'd be told in the future to do.

But it's her dad.

Before she can act, they are disappeared in a blink. She sprints as fast as she can through unfreezing, confused folk in the hall. She reaches the room breathlessly just as Emma's telling Regina to wait for her dad. It's the response from Regina that leaves her with pause.

"I don't have time to wait for the handless wonder." Lily gawked quietly to herself as she took a step back, hiding from view. She knows Regina, knows she can be crude more often than kind but her father was just kidnapped and anyone talking bad about him right now doesn't have his best interest in mind.

She allowed herself one moment more, waiting for defense from her mother. When it didn't come, she decided she'd go at this alone. No one loves her dad like she does and apparently not even her mom is willing to fight for him.

XXXXXXXXX

They were all heading out to go to the loft when Emma paused with a sick feeling at the bottom of her stomach. The other's didn't seem to notice the lack of footsteps so she thought it best to announce to them her sudden need to check on Killian.

"You all go ahead, I'm gonna check on Hook." Emma called out, causing a group-wide halt.

"We don't have time, Miss Swan." Regina ordered.

"I have time." Emma argued. "I have a crappy feeling and I just wanna make sure he overslept or something and isn't in danger."

"What danger could he possibly be in?" Regina rolled her eyes as if nothing anyone else said would make her needs less important. Emma had her own needs, one was keeping her family safe. She should have chose him way before now. She should have stood up for him and waited. Instead she let Regina bully her yet again, but this gut feeling wasn't one she was messing with again.

"Honestly? From the woman who just had her heart stolen yesterday?" Emma rejected the glare and moved toward the back end of the hallway, throwing a hand in the air. "I'll be down in a minute, I just wanna see his face and make sure he's alright."

"You're acting like a lovesick teenager, not a hero." Regina shouted but this one would have to roll of Emma's back. She didn't give a damn about saving the world right now if it meant her happy ending was compromised in any way.

She made it to his room and knocked twice. He had an infinity for knowing when she was just outside, the fact she had to knock at all was a bit disconcerting. The waiting afterward was downright panic-inducing.

She rustled about for her keys, quickly finding his room key and opening the door before anymore time had past. Finding the room empty, his sheets tossed about when she knows he runs a tight ship, finding the bathroom door wide open, a table lamp knocked over, all through her into a state of crazed fear. She ran from the room immediately, traveling as quickly as she could to the diner.

Her parents and Regina were flocked around Roland, Robin and Henry.

"Where the hell is Lily?" The faces that greeted her panicked tone were shedding a look of concern themselves.

"She… she went upstairs to say good morning to Killian almost a half hour ago." Henry answered, sliding out of the booth to meet his mother's eyes head on. "Why?"

"They're both gone." Emma breathed as slowly as she could but the plummeting in her gut didn't help calm the storm. "You guys can find the book without me."

"Mom?"

"Something happened, Henry. I have to go find them. Stay here with Robin."

"Tell me what happened!" Henry demanded, not taking anymore child seats where Lily was involved.

"I don't know!" Emma shouted back. "I'm not arguing this. Stay here, stay put."

"Tell me what's going on Mom! They're my family too!"

"Henry, stop it." Emma voiced lowly, signaling for him to do the same.

"Are they endangered by the same people who killed my dad?" Henry's voice cracked and his chin trembled. The reality was he was dealing with his first death in memory, understanding that people are fragile things and lives can be taken. Monsters are very real, and they don't always look like monsters. Anyone he loves can leave him.

"Yes." Emma whispered.

"Then I'm going. I deserve to help save them."

"No you don't! I'm your mother and I know what's best. You're gonna stay here and you're just gonna have to deal with it, alright? Okay?" Emma snapped. She wasn't willing to have everyone's life in danger at one moment. She wasn't willing to have anyone's in danger for one more moment.

"Emma will find him." Mary Margaret moved to her side, obviously recognizing the anger for what it really was, fear. She only hoped Henry could be as perceptive and not take it too personally.

"Them. They're both gone and something tells me they're not together." Emma glanced around the diner one more time before moving toward the door.

"Wait!" Henry called out. "I need your keys. I left mine in the room and if I'm going to be a prisoner, I'd like to have my gameboy." Emma was too distraught to use her superpower, but if she had, she'd sense a lie or two. She handed over her keys without thought and continued on out of the diner.

"Emma, we need to get his memories." Regina nagged halfway through crossing the street. Emma turned around on her, eyes blazing with anger. "You need his memories. This is about him remembering you, not breaking the curse. You go. You take my parents and you go. I have my priorities set a little differently right now."

Without allowing Regina to object, Emma continued her route to the pawn shop to see Belle. If Lily wasn't there, Emma could at least have Belle run a locator spell with something of hers or Killian's. If Lily could manifest one of her coats from a different time period, Emma could surely conjure something that's only across the street in their room.

XXXXXXXX

Lily's magic was easily traced. Gold always warned her that she was the type of power that thickened the air and raised hairs on any witch or wizards neck. She was a force, and any force can be detected within a 50-mile radius. She figured teleporting to the farmhouse would end badly for them both so she chose to trek by foot.

About ten minutes through the forest, she appeared at the landing in which Neal died. She tried her best not to reenact the moment in her head. She kept her eyes fixed on the branches and not the brush below her feet but the air was thicker here. There was another force nearby and she wasn't sure if it were just the remnants of her mother's magic on that day or if another supernatural event had occurred more recently.

Then she sees him. He swaggers into the landing without warning, a sly smile staining his handsome face.

"Dad?" Lily struggled with the reluctancy of her feet, while her head was already leaping into his arms. She stumbled a bit before deciding to approach slowly.

"Ahh, little love." he sighed. She could have sworn he knew better than to call her that. She's never been more impartial to a word than 'little' and he knows, even this version, that nothing sets her gears in motion than being called 'little.' She's a mighty force, nothing little about that.

"Dad?" She questioned with less sincerity and more distrust.

"Yes, darling." he smiled wider and something about it didn't feel right. Usually his smile set her fears to rest and her own lips in a rush to reciprocate. "What brings you to the woods? It's no place for a child"

"Where should a child be?" Lily knew better now. If this was her father, he was under a spell, something terrible. They spend many afternoons in these woods.

"In her father's arms." He grinned even larger and it was as if she were reading this world's version of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf had just barred his teeth.

"My, what big teeth you have." Lily snickered. "Too sharp to be my darling father's."

"What's that_ love_?" The moment he tilted his head, she noticed his eyes flash from blue to brown.

"I'm not 'love.'" Lily growled before conjuring her sword. Within seconds the clearing was surrounded by monkeys with beastly wings and red eyes. Their shoulders heaved and drool pooled to the corners of each and every mouth.

"No, I suppose you're not dearie." A sinister voice chuckled from behind her. She didn't have to turn to know it was Zelena. The man in front of her, Gold. Within the minute, she had transformed him back to his cowardly self.

"Someone let the monkey out of the cage." Lily smirked. "And I suppose you've come to collect your revenge on lil' ol' me?" Despite the absolute fear rising up her spine, she stood her ground, not letting Gold or Zelena see her cower. She was braver than this and even if she wasn't, they'd never know.

"Such a little brat you are." Zelena sighed in distaste. "Usually, I'd find spunk appealing, but on you it just tastes awful in my mouth." At this time, Zelena had already moved to stand beside Gold. She wanted to stare the child in the eye when she insulted her apparently.

"I thought it was abandonment from your mother that tasted so terribly." Lily giggled. "Anyhow, if you'd just return me my father, I'd happily leave you to debate that amongst yourself."

"Your father?" Zelena cackled. "Oh, dearie, he's not with us. Even if he were, are you that ignorant to believe a child should do the saving of their father?"

"Are you that ignorant to assume I'm just a child?" Lily spit, the laugh leaving her and only bitterness remained. It wasn't a good look, but the woman knew how to press buttons. "If he's not with you, I believe we're done here."

Zelena's eyes only grew larger, her smile wider as she stared Lily down from head to toe.

"No darling, I don't believe we are." The witch laughed before nodding at her winged servants. As a whole, the circle she stood within shrunk twice in size as the simians surrounded her. Her first instinct was to teleport, but she didn't have a chance when Gold froze her without warning. She had no choice but to stand still and watch him approach her. He bent to her level, staring deep in her jade eyes.

"Now you're trapped in the cage, puppet." Gold whispered inches from her face. "And I plan on retying the strings just this instant."

XXXXXXXX

Of course Belle hadn't seen Lily. No one had seen Lily and no one had seen Killian and all at once everything felt a lot thicker. The tension in her shoulders was nothing compared to the tension in Storybrooke at that moment. If Emma had any intuition, she'd have to rely on it now and guess it was magic. The only trouble is she wasn't sure whose. The locator spell was a bust, it would have taken too long for her to make it and things needed to be resolved _like yesterday._

So she did what she would have in New York, looking for a perp. She haunted their stomping grounds which, for Killian, meant the docks. Emma power-walked her way down the street until the water became more blue and the waves more audible. It wasn't until she heard her son's voice that her power-walking turned to sprinting.

The boathouse doors were closed so she used her magic to fling the doors open as she drew her gun, running in just in time to shoot one, two, three flying monkey's surrounding the pirate. The relief of seeing _her_ pirate would be postponed until the coast was clear. After another few rounds, it appeared the coast finally was.

It was also clear of any sight of Lily.

"Mom?" Henry ran to her before she could realize he was scared. She wrapped him up tightly while still searching for a tiny brunette with adventure in her eyes.

"Shh. It's okay, you're safe."

"Emma?" Killian was out of breath as he ran to her.

"Where is she?"

"Zelena?"

"LILY!" Emma felt a new sensation shake her core. She's felt panic before but this felt like a weatherman predicting a cyclone on the horizon. She's never been in New York during a hurricane but she's sure that the citizens have more time to prepare for it than she does right now. "She's supposed to be here." Emma panted, feeling her heart racing against her son's cheek.

"I haven't seen her since last night." Killian expressed grimly, his hand raking through his hair, tugging at the locks as it went. "No one's seen her?"

"No." Emma whimpered, tears burning at her lash line in fear of what happened to her. "Killian what happened to you?"

"EMMA?" David called as he ran through the boat house with Regina and Mary Margaret following behind. "Did you find them?"

"Not Lily." Emma shook her head, squeezing Henry even tighter.

"We found the storybook." Regina rushed over to Emma and Henry. This woman's priorities were so fucked, Emma wanted to slap her back the enchanted forest because she was of absolutely no help to her right now. There was an eight year-old missing with a bounty over her head by a mass-murdering wizard.

"Great." Emma voiced sarcastically, adding an eye roll to further her point. She released Henry, taking the book from Regina. "Henry, I know you believe in magic, I need you to remember now."

"This book is going to help me do that?"

"We're hoping." Regina smiled hopefully as her hand rested upon Henry's shoulder. It's not that Emma didn't want him to remember. Well, it's not entirely that. It's just the most inopportune time and frankly Emma's heart hasn't stopped racing since she witnessed Killian's room that morning.

"Here." Emma thrusted the book into Henry's hands.

It was almost instantaneous. His eyes widened and she swears she could see the pictures flashing through his mind. His jaw went slack as his shoulders tensed. His grip on the book was tightening so much so his arms started to quake from the hold.

"Mom?" Emma smiled despite her sickly feeling. He turned to Regina only seconds later. "Mom!"

The moment between Regina and Henry was sweet, but short-lived. Regina quickly spun Henry around and out of her embrace, staring at Emma with the grandest grin. "Do it Emma, break the curse."

If anyone had told Emma Swan a week ago that she'd be back in Storybrooke, breaking a second curse, she would have told them they were sickly mistaken. Still, here she was, standing in front of her son, planning on breaking the curse the same way she did before. She braced herself with a smile, thinking only of how much she loved him and if this could cure the memory loss.

A mere second before her lips pressed against his brow, he vanished from between his mothers. A cackle was heard on the other side of the boat house, followed by a series of gasps. When Emma looked up, she found Zelena with her hands around Henry's throat and Gold with his hand gripping Lily's shoulder.

"Not only do I have one of your children, I now have two." Zelena snickered. "Which one should we kill first, Rumple?"

"Let them go." Killian moved directly in front of Gold. Blocking Emma's view of Lily. "Crocodile!"

"Foolish pirates shouldn't make demands when they haven't met any made to them."Zelena growled. _Demands? _The kiss. This whole thing is based off of Killian not kissing her. Zelena wanted her powers gone for a reason. She couldn't beat her without them being gone.

"Let them go! They have nothing to do with this." Emma shouted, moving beside the pirate. "Let them go." Gold's grasp on Lily didn't seem nearly as painful as the grip Zelena took on Henry's throat.

"I don't think I will. I think I'll let another love of yours die in front of your eyes." Zelena wasn't wicked, she was demented. She actually thought to mock Neal's death in front of his dad. She watched hesitantly as Gold gritted his teeth. She knew Gold was magically strong, but the fact that Lily didn't struggle at all concerned her. Her legs were itching to rip them both away from these monsters but she couldn't move. She was paralyzed with fear. What if she couldn't save them both?

"Alright, Enough of this." Regina declared, moving toward Zelena with palms raised, but before she could inflict any damage, Zelena flung her through the air like she were nothing.

"MOM!" Henry cried.

"Your memories?" Lily mumbled to herself, the gears visibly turning in her downcast eyes. "Mom use your magic on Zelena!"

"Quiet!" Gold growled. Emma kept a watchful eye on his hand resting on Lily's shoulder. The thing is, it was only resting. He was barely holding her. She was staying still, using none of her magic and it was as if…_ as if they were on the same side._

"UNHAND HER!" Killian lunged forward only to be threatened by Gold with a newly formed fireball.

"Dad, stop." Lily spoke calmly. "He's not hurting me. I'm okay. If you step any closer, you won't be." Killian met Lily's eyes, a reassuring nod and soft smile to aid in his sanity were sent his way. Killian did as he was told. He was like a dog in a cage, afraid to bark at the threat across the street. Emma could almost hear him whimpering with a tail between his legs as he watched his daughter in the hands of his enemy.

"Enough of this." Zelena grinned sinisterly. "Say goodbye to your boy." Henry instantly began struggling as Zelena clutched his throat. All of the panic melted from Emma's mind as she zeroed in on Lily's voice.

"Use your magic, you used your magic!" Lily called out again. This time, Gold didn't threaten her or try to quiet her but Emma didn't have time to think about that. She focused on the task at hand. Closing her eyes and centering herself, she conjured the white strength needed to stop Zelena.

"AHHH!" Zelena groaned, wrenching her hands from Henry's neck.

"RUN!" Emma held her arms out, a cry ripping from her throat. Henry stumbled into Emma's arms as quickly as he could.

"Enjoy this moment together, because you only have one child left." Zelena roared before vanishing in a cloud of was only one spare moment that Lily and Gold remained before disappearing with her. In that scatter of seconds, Lily managed to make eye contact with Emma, a non-verbal communication that she was indeed alright, not to worry, sealed with a wink and a smile before they vanished in a blink.

"NO!" Killian ran at the spot they once stood but it was too late. He slammed down to his knees immediately. "LILY!"

"We'll find her." David promised, moving to Killian's side swiftly. "C'mon, we'll find her." David gripped Killian's shoulders, attempting to pull him back up. Henry watched Killian with compassion for a moment before his eyes found his mother's form laying on the ground. He was beside Regina in flash.

"Mom! Mom!" The desperation in his voice matched the look on everyone else's face surrounding him. "Mom, please!" After a bit of shaking and pleading, Regina came to. A relieved, but still frightened Henry helped her to her feet. There were hushed words of adoration but Emma was too conflicted to listen in.

She wanted to find Lily, she needed to, but there wasn't fear in Lily's eyes when Gold was holding her. And that wink? That wink was the 'all safe' symbol. She trusted Lily, and she's seen both her acting brave and being frightened and here she was neither. There wasn't much life in her at all, no struggle, no panic, no fear. Neither was there sass, irritation or pride. Just a calm exterior and a final wink. She realized then that Lily had a plan, a hidden reason for not being the least bit afraid. She was okay. Emma just had to help Killian see that.

Before Emma could grasp what was happening, a burst of white energy filled the atmosphere. Everyone was taken back a step or two. She refocused on Henry and Regina, as her parents marveled in discovery.

"It wasn't me. It was you." Emma gasped. She turned to her mother to find her staring at her father with something undetectable in her eyes. "Did it work? Do you remember the missing year?"

"Hook!" David shouted, causing Emma to turn from her mother before she could answer. Killian was moving quickly from the boathouse before anyone could stop him. He wasn't conflicted at all, just determined to get their daughter back at whatever cost.

"KILLIAN!" Emma shouted. "Wait!" He was a moving force, but not unstoppable, and Emma only needed an unmovable object to block him. She hastily used her magic to barricade the boathouse. The doors slammed directly in front of the pirate, causing quite a few curses to tumble from his mouth.

"Dammit, Emma you open this door now!" Killian demanded. "She's out there with them and if you want to stay here I won't plague you, but you let me leave!"

"She's safe."

"Rubbish, he had her captive."

"Killian, she's safe." Emma repeated, moving toward him in a quickened stride. "Please. Trust me."

"No."

"No?" Emma repeated, stunned. "What do you mean 'no?'"

"Emma, please, open the doors." he groaned, defeat rushing up his spine. "Please, she's out there."

"And she has a plan." Emma explained. "That plan does not include you getting killed so just trust me." she stretched her hand out to him, palm up with vulnerability. "Trust me" She breathed.

He met her eyes with uncertainty but his hand found hers after the moment had passed.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When the green smoke cleared, Lily found herself back at the farmhouse. This time, locked in the cage with Gold, down in the storm cellar. Zelena drew the dagger, waving it in front of Gold's face. Gold gritted his teeth and sat at the spinning wheel without question.

Lily almost wanted to fight for the man. There's nothing satisfactory about being someone else's puppet. Then she remembered that he meant for her to be his, and the _almost _urge to fight vanished instantly.

"First I need your brain. Then I'll have you slaughter the stupid brat." Lily thought to flinch, make her believe she was frightened, but even if she were, Lily isn't the type to show fear in the face of a villain.

"Mmm." Lily smushed her lips together with a bored expression present. Zelena snarled at her before vanishing from the cellar. Lily shrugged and walked over to the pile of straw. "Would you like me to hand you the straw, Gold?"

"Yes child." Gold nodded. "You can actually feed it through, I'll teach you like I taught her mother." He turned to her then, a sincere smile present on his face. "Perhaps after, I'll teach you how to steal a heart, the same way."

"Tempting, but I'd rather you tell me how this cuff works." Lily pointed to the black bracelet on the wizard's wrist. "How are you going to spin straw into gold, when you can't tap into your magic?"

"Are you paying attention, dearie? I just told you I'm not. You are." He stood from the bench, allowing Lily to sit. He handed her a bundle to set on her lap, directing her silently on how to feed it through. She nodded, and began working diligently. He always praised her for being the quickest learner he's yet to encounter.

"My parents must be frightened." Lily frowned as she spun. "So much so, they're probably arguing right at this very says that people act their angriest when they're frightened. Do you believe that?"

But Lily was incorrect, because right at that very moment, the white magic she's made of burst through the air, pushing Gold and Lily back a bit. Lily almost lost balance from the stool, but the man caught her, guiding her back to position.

"Memories." Lily mumbled. "You remember the lost year?"

"I remember." Gold confessed, solemnly.

"Ah, then you know that had I saved Neal, it would have had to occur last year in the Enchanted Forest." Lily sighed, recalling what she discussed with Belle over the symbol in the book. "To resurrect you, he had to die. Had I succeeded, you'd still be dead."

"Yes." Gold responded quietly. "Lillian, I haven't forced you to go yet. You understand that?"

"It doesn't mean you won't."

"No, of course it doesn't." Gold handed her a bit more straw, guiding her silently once more on how to spin. His lessons usually came with a world of praise. 'So bright' or 'Very talented' and Lily knew she was doing a good job, there was gold falling onto the basket beneath the wheel, but she wanted to hear it, just once more. She wanted the warmth that bloomed in her chest when he bragged about her to Regina or The Blue Fairy. She wanted the pride of being his prize student. The pride was what had been lacking this whole time. The pride was the light in her eyes.

Before Lily knew it, Gold guided her from the stool, taking his place once more. She glanced down to find the basket full of twirled gold string.

"So what's the point of bringing it up?" Lily grumbled moving into the corner of the cage. She didn't forget the conversation, just forgot to make her thoughts vocal yet again.

"Bring this information to me when you return the wand." Gold explained."Your father's life may be spared." He stalled, turning to her with grief in his eyes. "Sometimes people are so consumed with darkness, they hold onto grief because it's relevant. They can't understand logic because it battles what they believe they are, in their very core."

For the life of her, Lily couldn't understand why she'd want to sit and listen to him give his 'worldly knowledge.' He's a snake and a murderer, and he was never there for her. Still, when he speaks, she listens because she trusts the words coming out of his mouth. She'll pretend it's her intuition, but deep down she knows it's because it would hurt too much to believe he never cared for her. She thought they were family.

"I didn't believe you were dark in your core. I believe darkness is made."

"Because Regina believes that? She's just as wrong as you." Gold smirked and it made her angry. She doesn't need to be mocked right now.

"Maybe you're the one who's wrong." Lily sassed, raising a brow at the older man.

"Are you willing to bet your father's life on it?" Gold's smile only grew. Once again, he was defenseless in her presence. He should keep his mouth shut when she's got the upper hand.

"I'm willing to bet yours." Lily mumbled to herself. "What's the part of the plan where I get back to them?"

"Shortly. When she grabs my 'brain,'"He gestured his signature Dark One wave and she saw the wolf in sheep's clothing. "I'll ask you to remove the cuff. After that the magic will be restored and whatever she commands I must obey, Lillian. You are to leave as rapidly as you remove it, your very life depends on it, are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"She'll be coming any moment. The curse is broken, the baby is to be born."

"Gold?"

"Yes, Lillian?" he sighed once more, as if her questions were exhausting him. He never once showed signs of growing tired before. In her future, his eyes gleam at the questions that fled her mind. He told her it was a gift to be eager.

"This foresight, will you be able to take it from me?" Lily tugged at the flesh on her bottom lip. Nothing made her more nervous than the idea of seeing everyone's death. That's the most messed up part of this whole thing. Her parents will cry over lost innocence, but it wasn't innocence, she still wants to play pretend. It's security that she's lost. It's the reality that not only is life short, but death is only sometimes quick but sometimes people suffer. She's felt the physical suffer.

"If you had it prior to studying with me, Lillian, you'd never have trusted me to begin with. You need a little more than intuition, you need to see people for what they're capable of doing." She doesn't need to see it to know what people are capable of doing. Everyone is capable of dying. She gets it.

"I don't want to see death before it happens, Gold." She rejected the idea.

"No, I suppose you don't, and more commonly you won't. You were just fixated on it. Your subconscious drew it from your gift." Gold explained.

"Please stop referring to it as a gift." Lily groaned. "You cursed me."

"I suppose I did." he sighed. "But I won't apologize, I've made you stronger."

"By breaking me?" Lily released a humorless laugh.

"You don't appear broken."

"Neither do you, but we both know you are." Lily countered. Gold turned to her slowly, his mouth opening and closing a few times before any sound came out. When it appeared as if he finally figured out a train of thought to run with, the cellar doors flung open, a wild wind rushing through, Zelena following behind.

The grin present on the witch's face was absolutely sickening. Lily felt a quake in her gut, afraid making eye contact with either would only give away the plan. She should be cowering in a corner if Zelena had her way, but she's pretty sure Zelena's caught onto how brave Lily behaves when she should be frightened; so Lily rose her chin high, pressing her shoulders back and staring the Wicked Witch of the West in both eyes.

"Proud to meet your demise?" Zelena beamed. "Such a brave little witch."

"I'm not a witch." Lily tight-lipped "And I'm not dying anytime soon, Zelena." Zelena's smile dropped in the corners of her mouth, her eyes dimmed a bit before turning to Gold.

"Nonsense" She spoke quickly but took her time swiping the word off her teeth with a long stroke of her tongue, like the doubt was dripping all over them. She moved to the basket of spun gold, waving the dagger over it and producing a brain. Just like Lily's storybook.

Lily wanted to sit and bask in the wonder of it all, watching her stories as they happened, but with all the muddling she's done with the timeline, she isn't certain she even knows the details she's recalling.

"Alright, now kill the brat." Gold smirked at Lily deviously, as if he wanted to. He stood from his stool, turning as if her were being commanded. His hand rose and she thought for a moment, perhaps he would, perhaps this was all a lie and the plan he promised was just another set up.

_Fool me once_

_Gold wrapped his hand over Lily's, tugging her close and disappearing in a blink. Zelena was still straggling behind as Gold lowered himself to meet her eyes. _

"_Listen quickly, child." He warned. "This cuff is a fake, and I shall have you dawn the real one on my wrist when the time comes. Are we clear?"_

"_Heck no, we're not clear! What kinda game is this?" Lily shrieked, tugging at the cuff on her wrist. _

"_LEAVE IT!" He demanded. "Lillian, if you wish to die, you disobey me; otherwise heed my warning. If Zelena finds this cuff to be a fake, you will have a much worse fate than trusting an untrustworthy man. I mean to help you."_

"_What do I do?"_

"_Act as though you're wearing the real thing. I know you've been shown this before." Gold encouraged. Lily nodded, she knew the cuff well. It would block all magical ability from the body. She just didn't know why Gold would wear it._

"_Why are you helping me?" Lily whispered. "I rattled your cage, don't you want me dead?"_

"_What I did to you was much worse than taunting." Gold admitted, regrettably. "And your power, your potential is not a gift I'm willing to waste." She wanted to scream how it wasn't his power to waste, it was hers, but he was saving her life here. She could tone down the sass and be appreciative._

Lily pulled herself back to the present, back to the current threat or lack thereof. Gold told her he'd help her, not hurt her so she should believe that. Still, she believed him before, and she got burned.

Lily recalls a lesson in Belle's library. She was studying life lessons through literary geniuses. Belle came across her favorite, one she held true to her heart since the day she banished her husband from Storybrooke. _When people show you who they are, believe them. _That's not the only quote she's read of Dr. Maya Angelou's. In this very moment, she can recall another.

_A caged bird stands on a grave of dreams. _

Becoming the dark one clipped Gold's wings. He's been sitting here for centuries spinning gold and his nimble fingers tow the string like a harpist. No one can hear him but Lily, she hears him sing. She hears him want to be free of this curse, to go back to simpler times when he had a son who wanted him to be his father. She's not blind, she sees him watch her father. A man with darkness who's since overcome. He has a family and Gold has nothing now. He could have had Belle, but he threw that away for power. Just as he did his son.

This entire thing had been about Bae. Rumplestiltskin learned from a seer that he'd create a curse centuries in the making to be reunited with his son. He did just that, broke the right girl and bent her into what he needed. She cast the curse, never got her own happy ending but somehow he thought he would. Now he's in a cage, with his assumed second chance.

Lily is not a broken girl, though. She's the free bird, and she's going to claim the sky one day and Gold gets to watch her fly knowing that she deserves it, not him. So when she gets the heck out of this cage, she's not looking back. Most feel for the caged bird. Lily feels for herself. It's never been her fault that people are the way they are and it's never been her job to fix a man who's soul was lost centuries ago. She is only eight years-old and she owes her elders nothing but respect and an open ear to hear their tale. She's not destined to rewrite history for a man who has yet to own up to his mistakes. People keep telling her to be a kid. It's time she listen. She won't deny she cared for Gold, but she won't allow herself to care for him anymore. Although he's trying to make amends before he's ever committed the crime, it's not her place to save him.

Lily held her hands up defensively before daunting her own devilish smirk. She used one palm facing toward Gold and twisted it inward toward her, with that, the cuff from his wrist found her palm. Before Zelena could understand, Lily was gone in a burst of blinding, white light.

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End file.
